Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Friday that the United States would prefer to see the Army’s Commander-in-Chief, General Joseph Aoun, at the head of the State. “It’s not true that the United States is hindering the Lebanese presidential elections. The USA will cooperate with any elected president,” he told al-Jadeed.

Stressing that Saudi Arabia “still maintains its position of not vetoing any name,” Berri asserted that “claims that Jean-Yves Le Drian, French President Emmanuel Macron’s personal envoy for Lebanon, has turned the page on the French initiative are untrue.” This initiative concerns the election of Frangieh to the Presidency of the Republic and the appointment of Ambassador Nawaf Salam as Prime Minister.

“I explained to Le Drian why Hezbollah and I are insisting on Sleiman Frangieh’s candidacy: mainly because he is sincere, straightforward, and keeps his word,” Berri continued. He also emphasized that he is “ready to participate in any dialogue in Parliament” through the appointment of a representative from his bloc.

Berri affirmed that “former MP Walid Jumblatt does not need an appointment, and the doors are open to him whenever he wants,” emphasizing that “all attempts by some to create a rift between him and me have failed and will not succeed.”

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