Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday that his hands are extended to everyone, saying he was opposed "to exclusion" a day after Hezbollah accused opponents of seeking to exclude it by nominating him.
Salam said he was against exclusion and on the contrary supported unity. "This is my sincere call, and my hands are extended to everyone," he said at Baabda presidential palace.
Salam spoke after meeting President Joseph Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri.
Aoun has asked Salam to form the country’s new government after he was named prime minister by a large number of legislators Monday. The move apparently angered Hezbollah and its allies.
In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister.
“We will see their acts when it comes to forcing the occupiers to leave our country, bringing back prisoners, reconstruction” and the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad, said after meeting with Aoun on Monday.
But Salam said: "Reconstruction isn't just a promise, but a commitment, and this requires complete implementation of UN Resolution 1701, implementation of all articles of the ceasefire, and imposing the full withdrawal of the Israeli enemy from every inch" of Lebanon.
He stated that he would work for justice for the victims of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, and for depositors whose savings have been frozen inside the Lebanese financial system since its collapse in 2019.
"It is time to begin a new chapter, one that we want to be rooted in justice, security, progress, and opportunity," Salam added.
