Geagea Described Presidential Crisis as 'Misery,' Blames Vacuum on Iran

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea described the presidential deadlock as a “misery,” laying blame on Hizbullah-backer Iran and saying no solution was currently lying on the horizon .

“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.

“This is a misery and brings sadness,” he said.

“At the moment I don't see any solution” to the problem, Geagea, a presidential candidate, 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 Hizbullah 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, which erupted after MPs failed to elect a successor to Michel Suleiman, whose term ended in May last year.

The rivalry between Aoun and Geagea and their camps is one of the major reasons for the vacuum at Baabda Palace.

But the LF chief insisted that he was committed to “the dialogue with Aoun no matter what.”

He said his expected talks with Aoun would help end their rivalry.

Officials from both parties are currently preparing a document to agree on several issues.

The signing of the document would be followed by talks between Geagea and Aoun.

Al-Liwaa daily on Wednesday quoted high-ranking officials as saying that the dialogue would limit tension.

But the sources refused to reveal whether the talks are focusing on the presidential deadlock.

G.K.

H.K.