Geagea Says Meeting with Hariri Tackled Post-Assad Regime Stage
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that his meeting with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Saudi Arabia tackled the latest developments locally and in the region.
“We discussed our position if the cabinet wasn’t able to survive, the (2013) parliamentary elections, and the collapse of the Syrian regime and its aftermath,” Geagea told the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai in an interview to be published on Thursday.
He noted that he agreed with Hariri on the “broad principles.”
Geagea visited Riyadh in December where he held talks with a number of high-ranking Saudi officials.
Asked about the March 14 forces-led opposition’s plan on the transformations in the region, Geagea said: “We are trying to set straight the conditions in Lebanon amid the developments in the region, especially the stage after the collapse of the Syrian regime.”
However, the LF leader stated that Lebanon’s problems will not “end” with the collapse of the Assad regime as some of them “have nothing to do with the Syrian regime and have Lebanese roots.”
Geagea said that the March 14 leaders are holding consecutive meetings to discuss “the first phase” of the new stage in Lebanon.
Concerning the electoral law and the Christian leaders’ decision to adopt the Orthodox Gathering proposals, he told the daily that the “fuss” shouldn’t have been on the mechanisms suggested but on the “political project.”
In December, Maronite MPs, leaders and Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi announced their support for an electoral law that would unite the existing 26 electoral districts into a single one.
On Hizbullah’s arms, Geagea expressed belief that politicians will not be able to tackle the issue seriously “before the collapse of the Syrian regime…”
“We hold on to the government as a sole side to control the strategic decision of the country.”
He said that allegations made by Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn on the infiltration of al-Qaida members to the eastern Bekaa town of Arsal are merely “fraud and manipulations.”
Geagea wondered if it was a coincidence that Ghosn’s statements were made shortly before Syria accused the group of being behind a bomb attack that left over 40 people dead in Damascus on Friday.
Ghosn faced criticism as his recent statements were viewed as an attempt to spread the unrest in Syria to Lebanon.
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