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- LF Leader Rejects Any Bargaining Over the Presidency
Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea firmly rejected an alleged plan by the Iran-backed Moumanaa axis to use the presidency as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Western envoys.
"At this stage, we utterly reject the election of a symbolic president, who lacks the required attributes for the presidential position, as part of a regional settlement that is currently under discussion," Geagea said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said that the ongoing negotiations between the Moumanaa axis, led by Hezbollah, and Western envoys, notably the Americans, regarding Hezbollah's redeployment in the South caught his attention.
"The Moumanaa axis always ends its talk with the following phrase: For these matters to be resolved, there needs to be an internal solution regarding the presidency and the government," Geagea pointed out, adding that "this implies that the axis places the presidency and the upcoming government within the context of ongoing negotiations regarding its (military) presence in the South."
The LF leader assured that "the presidency is not a lost cause, nor will it be a prize to satisfy the Moumanaa axis, or an epilogue to any deal," now or after.
He pointed out that the Lebanese presidency is an "independent issue unrelated to any other deal," adding, "We are now more than ever in need of a genuine presidential figure whose concern is to organize the affairs of the Lebanese Republic and focus on the interests of the Lebanese people."
"At this stage, we utterly reject the election of a symbolic president, who lacks the required attributes for the presidential position, as part of a regional settlement that is currently under discussion," Geagea said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said that the ongoing negotiations between the Moumanaa axis, led by Hezbollah, and Western envoys, notably the Americans, regarding Hezbollah's redeployment in the South caught his attention.
"The Moumanaa axis always ends its talk with the following phrase: For these matters to be resolved, there needs to be an internal solution regarding the presidency and the government," Geagea pointed out, adding that "this implies that the axis places the presidency and the upcoming government within the context of ongoing negotiations regarding its (military) presence in the South."
The LF leader assured that "the presidency is not a lost cause, nor will it be a prize to satisfy the Moumanaa axis, or an epilogue to any deal," now or after.
He pointed out that the Lebanese presidency is an "independent issue unrelated to any other deal," adding, "We are now more than ever in need of a genuine presidential figure whose concern is to organize the affairs of the Lebanese Republic and focus on the interests of the Lebanese people."
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