Geagea rules out deal with Bassil, rejects president not backed by Christians

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has ruled out cooperation with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil in the presidential file, as he warned against electing a president not enjoying the support of the two main Christian parties – the LF and the FPM.

“A president cannot be elected against the will of Christians. If someone believes that they can elect a president against the will of the majority of Christians, then they are mistaken. This is not a way to behave, seeing as everyone knows the reality of constitutional posts,” Geagea said in an interview with Kuwait’s al-Rai newspaper.

“With such a proposal, instead of making a step that would restore the confidence of the Lebanese in their state and the confidence of the world in Lebanon, you would be starting without the confidence of the majority of the Lebanese,” Geagea added.

As for the nomination of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun for the post of president, the LF leader said: "If the problem would be solved through the election of the army chief, we would not mind.”

Asked whether he might agree with Bassil on a candidate should he sense that Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh is about to secure 65 votes, Geagea said Bassil’s call for agreeing on a third candidate “entails deception.”

“So far, Bassil thinks that he can be the serious candidate, and if after a month or two or three finds out that he is incapable of being a serious candidate, he will seek to have the main say in the president,” the LF leader added.

Asked about the deteriorating relation between the FPM and Hezbollah, Geagea said: “In my opinion, whatever happens, Bassil and Hezbollah will not end their alliance. They disagree over certain interests, but they will not go separate ways, because the interests that Hezbollah provides for Bassil cannot be provided by anyone else and vice versa.”