The United States welcomes today’s start of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s trial for four defendants accused of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others that were killed in that bombing. We have strongly supported the Tribunal’s efforts to hold accountable those responsible for destabilizing acts of violence in Lebanon. The Tribunal’s work must continue unimpeded and the perpetrators of these acts must be brought to justice. The United States reiterates our condemnation of the use of violence as a political tool. We call on all parties to work together to insulate Lebanon from further instability, including by supporting the institutions of the Lebanese state, assisting the Lebanese Armed Forces, and by respecting Lebanon’s neutrality as agreed in the Baabda Declaration.