BASSIL'S Media Office: Attempts to Damage Relationship With Hezbollah Shall Not Succeed

02 Feb 2018

Lebanon - Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Gebran Bassil on Friday categorically stressed that attempts by desperate sides to damage the relationship with Hezbollah shall fail.

Minister Bassil was referring to the partial and fractional utterances circulated by some media outlets of his interview to the French-language "Magazine" Publication on the relationship with Hezbollah.

The press office elaborated that Minister Bassil in fact said in his interview that the FPM's relationship with Hezbollah is strategic and enduring, saying such a relationship broke the record in the political understandings in Lebanon. "We are on the same wavelength on strategic issues," he said in his interview.

Turning to the internal questions, the press office quoted Bassil as saying that he regrets that some differences exist with Hizbullah on internal issues. He said "Hezbollah is making some decisions on internal issues that do not serve the state.... This matter makes Lebanon pay the price."

In this framework, the Minister noted that a main clause concerning the state building in the Memorandum of Understanding has not been applied under the pretext of foreign policy issues.