When US State Secretary John Kerry was asked about the Lebanese presidential elections, his response was “that he is not certain of the outcome of the latest developments, but he hopes that the elections will move forward.”
Kerry’s brief remarks made headlines across the Lebanese newspapers, where each one of them interpreted it as it sees fit.
This is how they explained it:
While Annahar showed skepticism with a headline reading: “what awakened Kerry to doubt Aoun’s choice?”
The writer of the article deemed Kerry’s remarks cautious with many aspects.
On the other hand, al-Akhbar showed optimism, but preferred to report Beit al-Wasat comment over Kerry’s words.
Journalist Hassan Alliq believed the US secretary’s comments to be cautious with hopes for happy endings, considering however that the United States is not interested in the Lebanese affairs at all.
In turn, Addiyar newspaper wrote: “Kerry: We support the presidential elections but we have doubts over Hariri’s ability to bring Aoun to presidency.”
But Kerry neither used the words “support or doubt” nor even named “Aoun.”
For its part, Assafir daily’s headline read “Kerry: I am not certain of the outcome of Hariri’s support,” describing Kerry’s position as cautious.
As for al-Hayat Newspaper, Kerry’s words were taken far beyond their real meaning, writing in its headline “Washington doubts success of presidential settlement in Lebanon.”
For more details, watch the full report in the video above