Lebanon’s parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed on Tuesday the possibility that Lebanon would be negatively affected by the regime change in Syria.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he added that so far, it appears that Israel has benefited the most from the situation, followed by Türkiye.
Moreover, the ceasefire agreement, which was sponsored by the US and France, "fortified Lebanon from shakeups", he stressed.
He underscored the need to take further steps "that would increase Lebanon’s immunity and restore regular functioning at its institutions" - a reference to the presidential elections scheduled for January 9.
Hopes are high that a president will be elected after over two years of vacuum caused by differences between political powers over a candidate.
Berri said the elections will be held on time despite the changes in the region and calls for its postponement so that more consultations can be held over potential candidates.
"We will witness the election of a president during the next session. Lebanon will have a president on January 9," he vowed.
"I have an understanding with the quintet (which includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, the US and France) and I have not received any local or foreign request to delay the session," he went on to say.
Meanwhile, head of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil said Iran-backed Hezbollah needs to focus on domestic issues in Lebanon and not the wider region, adding that he was against Army Commander Joseph Aoun running for the presidency.
A year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel, which culminated in a tentative ceasefire brokered by the United States and France in November, saw more than 4,000 killed, thousands displaced and the Shiite group considerably weakened militarily with many of its leaders dead.
"It's a process whereby Hezbollah accepts that they are part of the Lebanese state and are not parallel to the state," Bassil told Reuters in an interview in Paris.
"We don't want their end. We want them to be partners in the Lebanese nation, equal to us in abiding by the rules and preserving the sovereignty of Lebanon. We agree with them on defending Lebanon and supporting the Palestinian cause, but politically and diplomatically, not militarily."
Bassil said the group should distance itself from the Iran-aligned "Axis of Resistance".
He was in Paris meeting French officials. He declined to say whether he met Donald Trump's regional envoy Massad Boulos, who accompanied the US president-elect to France last weekend.
Since the truce, Paris has increased efforts to discuss with the myriad key actors in Lebanon over how to break a political impasse after two years without a president or permanent government.
Bassil, who has enough lawmakers to block a candidate, said he was against the candidacy of Joseph Aoun, who diplomats say both the United States and France consider as a serious candidate.
He said Aoun's appointment would be against the constitution and that he did not have consensus among all the Lebanese factions.
"We are against him because we don't see him as being fit for the presidency," Bassil said. "We need candidates who can bring the Lebanese together," he added, declining to name one.
