Report: U.S. Official Optimistic on Election of President by March

U.S. officials are optimistic about electing a Lebanese president before March. A official at the State Department urged the Lebanese parties to agree on a president without foreign interference, and called on them to give up on their international alignments to solve their national issues privately.

The source said in an interview with As Safir: “If the Lebanese parties consulted each other throughout January, then the presidential elections may take place before March.”

“The Lebanese must not let their history effect their future. It is true that each Lebanese party has its own foreign alignments, but having this does not mean that they should impose a president against the will of the Lebanese,” he stated.

The source said that “in the twentieth century the major powers had exaggerated influence over the rest of the world, but this has changed in the twenty first century and the Lebanese must take note of this and start taking care of their national interests such as education, economy and the issue of Syrian refugees without waiting for aid from foreign countries.”

When asked whether it is possible for the Lebanese parties to ignore their alignments and take crucial decisions on their own, the source told As Safir that the Lebanese take advices from regional and international allies which is “not bad, but this changes when they wait a green light regarding a crucial national issue such as electing a president.”

“When a chance comes for the Lebanese to decide on their national issues without any aid from foreign forces, they have to take that chance and act through their private channels,” he added.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since President Michel Suleiman's term ended in May.

MPs have failed in more than a dozen rounds of electoral sessions to find a successor over their differences on a compromise candidate.

Regarding military assistance to the country, the source stated that “Lebanon's security and stability are important and that the U.S. is working with the Lebanese government on different issues such as education and water safety.”

The source also underlined the importance of supporting the Lebanese Army in its fight against terrorism and stressed that the military “must stay strong, united and well equipped in its fight against extremists.”

M.Y.

G.K.