Head of the Lebanese Forces party Samir Geagea voiced his support on Saturday for Army Commander General Joseph Aoun’s possible presidential nomination if “it turns out that his chances are high.”
He said that discussions in this regard have begun among opposition parties, noting that there are more than 30 different parties which makes the communication process time-consuming.
“He has run the military institution in a good way and has improved it and acted as a real statesman at its head,” he said in comments about the army chief Aoun.
“Despite pressures from the most senior officials, he did not accept to prevent the army from performing its missions -- mainly preserving the border and domestic security,” Geagea added.
“I don’t know what General Aoun’s chances to reach the palace are, and I hope they will be good chances, because as he succeeded in his minor role, he can also succeed in this major role,” the Lebanese Forces leader added.
“If it turns out that his chances are high, we will certainly support him,” he went on to say.
Geagea, who considered the presidential elections “pivotal,” told the Al-Markaziya news agency that only people who can save Lebanon should be elected.
The LF head stressed that the upcoming president must be a reformist, and sovereign and should believe in the republic and the constitution. He affirmed that many figures in Lebanon enjoy these qualities.
As for his own nomination, Geagea said his party and its parliamentary bloc are still studying this possibility.
In remarks about Hezbollah’s launching of drones towards Karish gas field in the Mediterranean earlier this month, Geagea said the group’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, escalated activities because US President Joe Biden was visiting the region.
"Iran wanted, through Nasrallah, to inform Biden that it is capable of deteriorating the situation through its regional arms," Geagea stated.
He also said Hezbollah wanted to emphasize it is still a “resistance” and its weapons still have a function.
Geagea further stressed that Nasrallah wanted to pre-empt the expected positive breakthrough in the US-sponsored maritime border demarcation negotiations with Israel and attribute it to his group.
