Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea described the presidential vacuum as a “misery,” and blamed Iran , the backed of the Hezbollah-militant group for the deadlock .
“More than any other time Iran does not want a president for Lebanon unless he belonged to its camp,” Geagea told journalists who visited him in Maarab on Tuesday.
Iran is tampering with the strategic balances of the region and there is no one to stoop it . In addition the Iranian military intelligence in the region has no parallel today. The strategic balance was possible to achieve if the political position of the Americans was different.
“This is a misery and brings sadness,” he said.
“At the moment I don’t see any solution” to the problem, Geagea, who was the first to announce his presidential candidacy, added.
The LF chief said that Tehran had called for the mediation of French official Jean-François Girault. But Iranian officials later informed him that Hezbollah will not give up its support to the candidacy of Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.
Girault, a French presidential envoy, has met with Lebanese officials during recent visits to Beirut.
He has also traveled to Riyadh, Tehran and the Vatican to resolve Lebanon’s presidential crisis
The Lebanese parliament failed last February 18 and for the 18th time in a row to elect a president to replace Michel Suleiman whose term ended on May 25 last year
As in the previous sessions the parliament was unable to reach a quorum because the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group and its ally Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc MPs boycotted the sessions.
Speaker Nabih Berri postponed Lebanon’s presidential election to March 11 , 2015 .
Dialogue with FPM
The rivalry between Aoun and Geagea and their camps is one of the major reasons for the vacuum at Baabda Palace.
Commenting on dialogue talks with FPM he said they are ongoing and both parties are exerting all efforts to guarantee their success
Geagea insisted that he was committed to “the dialogue with Aoun no matter what, ” and predicted that the upcoming talks with Aoun would help end their rivalry.
Officials from both parties are currently preparing a memorandum of understanding on several issues and signing it will pave the way for talks between Geagea and Aoun.
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