In an issued statement by the Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Ministry on Saturday afternoon, it stressed that “what the Ministry is doing is inseparable from the essence of its role in safeguarding the supreme national interest.”

"As the provision of providing Lebanese concerned authorities with international data in various fields, which may impact certain conditions in Lebanon, falls within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which derives its information from Lebanese missions abroad, as well as through its communication with all foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Beirut, the Ministry wishes to clarify that its undertakings are inseparable from the essence of its role in safeguarding the supreme national interest, in terms of ensuring that no information with content is withheld from any of the state’s institutions, each according to its jurisdiction, so that its decision-making mechanism is based on the correct evaluation of the surrounding conditions and factors, and to avoid any negative repercussions on Lebanon,” the statement said.

In this connection, the Ministry expressed “its surprise at the criticism directed against it in a recent article issued by “Al-Akhbar" Newspaper, the content of which shows no delay by the Foreign Ministry in performing the sovereign role assigned to it, within the limits of its competencies.”