Skip to main content

Hezbollah shares Aoun’s victory: Lebanese FM


Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gebran Bassil says the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah shares the victory of Michel Aoun in securing the country’s presidency.
Aoun, a strong Hezbollah ally, was chosen by Lebanese lawmakers as the country’s president on Monday.
Addressing a large number of people who had converged at a square in Beirut to celebrate Aoun’s election, Bassil, who is also the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and Aoun’s son-in-law, said his movement never doubted Hezbollah’s “loyalty” and “honesty.” Aoun is the founder of the FPM.
He said Aoun’s victory was based on his own perseverance as well as the positions adopted by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who is Hezbollah’s secretary general.
In a phone call on the same day, Nasrallah congratulated Aoun on his election as the head of the Lebanese state.
Nasrallah endorsed Aoun last week, advising Lebanese political factions to set aside their differences in order to fill the presidential void in the Arab country.
Lebanon had been without a president for over two years amid political bickering in the parliament.
After the election, Aoun vowed in a speech to the parliament that he would spare no effort in trying to bring about the liberation of Lebanese territories occupied by Israel.
He said his top priority would be to strengthen the army in order for it to become capable of defending the country against all threats to its independence and sovereignty.
Hezbollah has been defending Lebanon against Israeli aggression since the movement’s inception, including during a full-fledged Israeli war in 2006.
Global congratulations
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also congratulated Aoun on his election.
So did Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement congratulated him, as well.
In a phone call on Monday, French President Francois Hollande also voiced France’s permanent readiness to help the Lebanese nation in line with the historic ties between the two countries, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
A special envoy of the Russian president, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov, also conveyed Vladimir Putin’s felicitations on the election of General Michel Aoun as the president of Lebanon on Monday.
EU High Representative Federica Mogherini also said in statement that the election of Aoun is crucial for Lebanon’s future.
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also congratulated Aoun on his election as president.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

38 dead, 92,000 left homeless by Niger floods

Recent heavy floods in Niger have killed more than three dozen people and left tens of thousands of others homeless, a United Nations (UN) report says. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report on Wednesday that, since June, at least 38 people had lost their lives and more than 92,000 had been made homeless as a result of torrential rains and heavy downpours in the West African country. The Nigerien government had put the number of fatalities at 14 before new flooding in August. The OCHA, citing government figures, also noted that more than 9,000 homes had been destroyed and more than 26,000 heads of livestock lost. Over 50,000 people had received aid from NGOs and many of the homeless had been sheltering in schools and public buildings, it added. The Nigerien National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued a warning last month, advising residents along the Niger River to evacuate immediately to safer ground over the likelihood of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Iran crushes Tajikistan for 2nd successive win at CAFA U-19 Women’s Cup

The Iranian national under-19 soccer team has notched an emphatic win over Tajikistan at the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) U-19 Women’s Cup in Uzbekistan to maintain its unbeaten run at the regional sports event. On Sunday, the Iranian sportswomen, who had opened the tournament with a 4-1 triumph over Kyrgyzstan the previous day, crushed their Central Asian opponents 6-0 in their second fixture in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent. Afsaneh Chatrenour put the Iranian team on the scoreboard in the 9th minute, before Elham Annafcheh doubled her side’s lead six minutes later. Fatemeh Qassemi scored a brace within few seconds in the 23rd and 24th minute, followed by an extra goal by Chatrenour in the 27th minute. Finally, Ghazaleh Salehipour ran the ball into the end zone more than a quarter after the hour mark, and hit a fine kick to score the Iranian team’s sixth goal. Iran women's national under-19 soccer team is scheduled t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Solar-powered ferries launched in Pyongyang

North Korea says it’s running solar-powered ferries in the capital Pyongyang. North Korean official news agency KCNA has released footage of a cruiser sailing through Taedong River in Pyongyang with a solar panel onboard. According to the cruiser’s captain, the ferries are capable of carrying up to 60 passengers. They are also going to be used for sight-seeing and tourism as well as providing reservation services for local and foreign guests. North Korea had earlier released images of the boats through a monthly magazine intended for foreign readers.
Post a Comment
Read more