Makary: We Need A President Who Talks To The Syrians But Who Is Not A Subservient To Them

Caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad Makary, wondered at the stances criticizing Hezbollah’s open endorsement of former minister Sleiman Frangieh’s nomination for the presidency of the republic, stressing that since the beginning it was clear that the Shia duo backs the Marada Movement leader for president.

Interviewed by OTV, Makary explained that the relation between Hezbollah and some foreign and Gulf states is not stable, but that this reality cannot persist “because any president of the republic must build good ties with everybody at the regional, Arab and international levels.” “Therefore, Frangieh is the best candidate as he can communicate with all sides,” he underlined.

“It is in Lebanon’s interest that the regional climate is relieved. If things are settled between the Saudis, the Syrians and the Iranians, and if Yemen’s crisis is resolved, the positive atmosphere will reverberate in Lebanon,” said Makary. “As far as I know, President Bashar al-Assad did not interfere in Frangieh’s nomination,” he added. “Syria will not return to Lebanon neither militarily nor politically; it is facing a massive crisis which requires a lot of time to abate,” he continued. “We need a president who talks to the Syrians but who is not a subservient to them,” he stressed.

Asked about Riyadh’s position regarding Frangieh’s nomination, Makary said that Saudi Arabia has not sent any negative sign in that respect.

Moreover, Makary saw that MP Michel Mouawad is a confrontational candidate who has never expressed readiness to stretch his hand out to the others.

He also described the Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea’s positions as “unsteady” and “contradicting.”

Touching on the relation with the Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Gebran Bassil, Makary said that the latter’s history is not reassuring and that the FPM’s performance throughout the tenure of former president Michel Aoun brimmed with mistakes.

NNA