Former President Michel Aoun’s press office decried Wednesday, June 7, “falsified allegations spread by several media outlets” about his visit to Syria, a day earlier, during which he held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“Ever since President Aoun’s visit to Damascus on Tuesday and his meeting with President Bashar Assad was announced, a flow of false and ill-intentioned reports started circulating,” the office said in a statement.
“Despite the issuance of statements by Lebanese and Syrian sides detailing the discussions and their strategic scope in light of recent developments, some newspapers persistently spread lies about a ‘push for a Syrian intervention’ and the ‘involvement of the Syrian regime’ in the Lebanese political scene,” the statement said.
“The spread of false information persisted, with unfounded claims suggesting the request for (Syrian) mediation (with Hezbollah) to further solidify the political stature of (MP Gebran Bassil), the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), and to discuss names of presidential candidates,” the release added.
The communique stressed that the former head of state has “dedicated his entire life to defending Lebanese sovereignty, which came at a great personal cost, and he would never jeopardize it.”
The statement categorically denied any assertions that President Aoun had ever sought personal favors during, prior to or after his presidential term, dismissing claims of attempting to enhance the status of the FPM and solidify Bassil’s position as “deception and depravity.”
The statement added that “the epitome of dishonesty” lies in the deliberate attempt to disrupt the relationship between President Aoun and Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, by spreading allegations of their purported failure to hold meetings.
“However, we maintain a strong belief in the discernment of our people, trusting in their awareness to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong,” the statement concluded.
