Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea deemed the issue of the presidency “difficult and complicated,” adding that MP Walid Jumblatt has become aware of the real situation and prefers any president over the vacuum.
“Since the Christian majority has agreed over MP Aoun for president, he is willing to vote for him, while contacts continue in this regard with former PM Saad Hariri,” he said.
During his meeting with a delegation from the Batroun town of Tannourine on Friday, Geagea stressed that Hezbollah is not serious with the nomination of Aoun for the presidency, pointing out that “the Shiite party cannot bear losing Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement as political allies, but does not want him to be president.”
“Hezbollah constitutes a big part of the Iranian strategy in the region, while Iran has been attempting to keep the Lebanese presidency suspended so that it can trade it with a significant price, which is keeping Bashar Assad in Syria, an option widely rejected by the Gulf States and the Western countries; a situation that places Hezbollah before two options: either a strong presidency and a weak party, or a strong party and a weak presidency,” Geagea explained, noting that the Shiite party prefers the status quo so or a weak president who can be easily manipulated.