Assad Calls for Lebanese President who Supports Resistance, Shares with Hizbullah Same Fate
Syrian President Bashar Assad voiced hope on Friday that the next Lebanese president would support the resistance axis, considering that his country and Hizbullah are united and share the same fate.
“We are interested in the opinions of the upcoming Lebanese president and to what he could offer the axis of the resistance, which is the basic criterion for us,” Assad was quoted as saying by his visitors.
The visitors told As Safir newspaper that Assad considers the Lebanese presidential elections as a local affair, whoever who the candidates were.
President Michel Suleiman's tenure ends in May 2014, but the constitutional period to elect a new head of state begins on March 25, two months prior to the expiration of Suleiman’s mandate.
Suleiman on Wednesday said he hoped the adoption of a national defense strategy under which the resistance would assist the Lebanese Army.
Asked about Prime Minister Tammam Salam, the Syrian president considered him as a “man of morals,” urging the political arch-foes to aid him in his endeavors.
Assad also called on the Lebanese to unite “in order to confront the challenges facing their country, warning that “the sharp rift would allow the takfiris to spread in their country.”
He stressed that Lebanon and Syria share the same security.
His visitors quoted him as saying that “there are men in Lebanon that held onto their stances and choices unlike those who are never persistent.”
Assad described Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as “loyal,” pointing out that they “are in the same boat.”
Hizbullah has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian regime against rebels seeking the overthrow of President Assad.
The conflict, pitting a Sunni-dominated rebel movement against Assad, has raised sectarian tensions in Lebanon and Lebanese Sunni fighters have also been killed while fighting alongside Syrian rebels.
Suleiman had continuously urged Hizbullah to withdraw its fighters from Syria immediately to disassociate Lebanon from the regional conflicts and to maintain Lebanon's best interest.
The embattled Syrian president expressed resentment over the stance of some Arab countries towards his country, warning that “all those who did Syria wrong and conspired against it will pay the price.”
He revealed that several Gulf countries have “secret contacts with Damascus,” noting that “European countries are extending aid to coordinate security and intelligence cooperation to confront the takfiri terrorism.”
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