Head of the “Lebanese Forces” party, Samir Geagea, indicated during an interview that “there will be no breakthrough soon in the file of the presidential elections, and evidence of this is the words of Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem,” adding, “Hezbollah’s equation in this regard is clear either its candidate or void.” Geagea pointed out that “France is waging a battle to bring Sleiman Franjieh to the presidency of the republic, against the background of the common interests between it and Hezbollah, from the port of Beirut to the port of Tripoli and other matters. Hence, the one who deals with embassies most is the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.” He stressed that “there is no truth in changing the position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the American softness towards Franjieh’s election, and if he is elected, the doors of Arab countries will be further closed in the face of Lebanon, and that some of the deputies visited the Kingdom to consult it, but it refused to enter the naming process.” The LF Chief denied “any offer or deal from the French ambassador, Anne Grillo, in exchange for Franjieh’s approval, otherwise, the crisis will be extended…” He added: “Our position is clear and we made it clear to our friends. What France is doing will not produce any result, and is one of the few friends who care about the Lebanese issue, because its association with the Hezbollah candidate does not reflect its reality as the mother of democracy and human rights. Franjieh belongs to a specific political line, and he was never ashamed or denied it, and he is the son of the axis of resistance, and therefore he can adhere to what he has, not what he does not have, because the matter is in the hands of Hezbollah.” Regarding the possibility of an agreement with the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, Geagea stressed that “there is no room for that unless he decides to elect our candidate.” In response to a question about appointing a new Central Bank Governor and his opinion of the former minister, Kamil Abu Suleiman, to assume this position, he said: ‘There is an absolute necessity to appoint a new governor, and the current government is capable of that because the necessities allow for prevention. If Abu Suleiman wants to take this position, I see that he is able to change, but I do not ask him to…” As for the name of the army commander for the presidency, Geagea said: “General Joseph Aoun is a statesman and he did not allow anyone to interfere in the military institution, and if his access is available, we will vote for him, but the problem is that he is the only candidate who needs 86 votes, and certainly Bassil will not vote for him because he does not represent his interests.” Geagea also touched on the crisis of the displaced Syrians, stressing the need to develop a plan to solve it, revealing that a press conference is being prepared to present a clear plan that includes preparing municipalities to carry out their tasks.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon