Hariri Denies Discussing Presidential Candidate Names with al-Rahi: IS Doesn't Represent Islam

Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri denied on Tuesday media reports that said that he had discussed with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi alternative presidential candidates, while also stressing his support for the Lebanese army and its confrontation with extremists.

He said: “I did not discuss any names with al-Rahi. These claims may have been made to create sensationalist reporting.”

He made his remarks before reporters after holding talks in Rome with Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini.

“We did not tackle any names, but that does not mean that we should not do so,” he added.

“We have reached a point where the debate has been raised over extending parliament's term, which we never wanted and or aimed for,” stressed Hariri.

“We want to stage the parliamentary elections. The most important matter however is holding the presidential ones,” he declared.

Hariri had held talks with al-Rahi in Rome on Tuesday.

“As part of the Mustaqbal Movement and March 14 alliance, we should reach a point similar to the one in 2008 that led to the election Michel Suleiman as president,” he suggested.

Suleiman was elected as president after the rival March 8 and 14 camps reached a Qatari-sponsored agreement to set aside their differences and elect a president.

At the time, the presidential palace was vacant from November 2007 to May 2008.

Lebanon plunged into a political vacuum as Suleiman's term ended on May 25 and the rival political forces have so far failed to elect a successor despite having held more than a dozen electoral sessions.

Commenting on the spread of Sunni extremism in the region through the Islamic State group, Hariri remarked: “The majority, if not all, the Sunnis in Lebanon are moderate.”

“Some groups however are attempting to portray them as providing a support for terrorism,” lamented the former premier.

“The Mustaqbal Movement believes that the IS poses a threat to the whole of Lebanon and the region,” he noted.

“We will not make any compromise when it comes to the IS as the group is comprised of terrorists who battled the Lebanese people and army. We will combat them as well because they do not represent Islam and have nothing to do with it,” he added.

“Any attack against the army is an attack against the whole of Lebanon,” he said.

“If any of those extremists believes that they are more Muslim than us, then we will fight them,” Hariri stated.

On his talks with Mogherini, he said that they discussed the possibility of supplying the Lebanese army with Italian equipment.

This issue will be tackled between the Lebanese and Italian governments and militaries, he explained in a hope that an agreement will be reached between the two sides.