Suleiman Says Resistance's Role in Syria Weakened it, Rejects Extension of his Term

President Michel Suleiman said on Friday that Hizbullah's involvement in battles in Syria weakened it, stressing that any endeavors to extend his tenure don't serve the national interest.

“The March 8 and 14 alliances have erred against me and they have both played with the nerves of the Lebanese people,” Suleiman said in an interview with the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper to be published tomorrow.

He reiterated that the presidential elections should be carried out on time, saying that the national interest compel us to stage it.

The president'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 pointed out that the political arch-foes should abide by the Baabda Declaration to avoid the repercussions of the Syrian crisis.

Under the Baabda Declaration, which was adopted in June 2012 during a national dialogue session headed by Suleiman, the rival March 8 and 14 camps agreed to keep Lebanon away from the policy of regional and international conflicts.

“The resistance was weakened after it engaged in battles in Syria,” Suleiman told the newspaper.

Hizbullah has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian regime against rebels seeking the overthrow of President Bashar 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.