Berri: Trump signed a written pledge to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had “signed a written pledge at Hassan Abbas’ restaurant (in the U.S. state of Michigan) to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon once he wins.”

Asked by the Mustaqbal Web news portal about “the ongoing debate regarding the future of Shiites in Lebanon,” Berri declined to comment on the subject and said he does not “interact with such a sectarian rhetoric.”

But he added that “all Lebanese are in pain and no one can replace anyone.”

As for the situation in Lebanon in light of the Israeli war, Berri said “the decision now is for the battlefield,” noting that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein “might return to Lebanon should he sense a positive Israeli stance, because we had reached an agreement, and the ball now is in the Israeli court.”

“If Hochstein finds any cooperation, he can return to Beirut from now until January 20, the date when Biden’s term will expire, to finalize the agreement,” Berri added.

He also said that those displaced from the south, the Bekaa and Beirut’s southern suburbs will immediately return to their homes once a ceasefire is reached, “even if they had to sleep on the floor.”

“In 2006, I called on them to return and they immediately returned, and today I will repeat the call and, God willing, they will return the next day,” Berri went on to say.

Trump has addressed a letter to the Lebanese-American community in the United States, just six days prior to the U.S. presidential vote which he eventually won. The letter came at the request of the owner of the "Hassan Abbas restaurant" in Michigan, who had requested that Trump pledge to end the war in Lebanon, after he was approached by Trump's campaign regarding a visit by the Republican candidate to his restaurant.

“During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon,” Trump says in the letter.

“I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace, and we will get it done properly so it doesn't repeat itself every 5 or 10 years!” he added.

“You have my word. I will preserve the equal partnership among all Lebanese communities. Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity, and harmony with their neighbors, and that can only happen with peace and stability in the Middle East,” Trump went on to say.

He added that he is looking forward to working with the Lebanese community living in the United States to “ensure the safety and security of the great people of Lebanon.”