Nasrallah: Let's go to parliament to elect a president

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday stressed that his party is not “imposing” a presidential candidate on anyone in Lebanon.

“Let each camp nominate any candidate it wants and let’s go to parliament to elect a president,” Nasrallah urged, in an annual televised speech commemorating slain Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine.

“As for us, the presidential file is making progress and there is positivity,” he said.

“The doors are still open for discussion, dialogue and rapprochement,” Nasrallah added, addressing the rival camp.

“We have chosen our candidate and he is a natural and serious candidate,” Nasrallah said, referring to Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh.

Separately, Nasrallah emphasized that “Lebanon is asked to restore normal relations with Syria” in the wake of the ongoing warming of ties between Damascus and the Arab world.

“What is the caretaker cabinet waiting for as to restoring the ties with Syria?” Hezbollah’s leader wondered.

“The Lebanese government should establish normal political ties with Syria,” he underscored.

“There is no excuse anymore after Arabs restored ties with Syria,” he said.

And noting that “Lebanon's certain political and economic interest lies in restoring normal relations with Syria,” Nasrallah underscored that “the issue of the displaced Syrians cannot be addressed through social media or statements.”

“Some foreign countries are imposing on Lebanon the stay of the refugees,” he lamented.

Moreover, Nasrallah said that the change in the stance of some Lebanese leaders on Syrian refugees “proves that their stance was political and not humanitarian from the very beginning.”

And responding to recent remarks by MP Ashraf Rifi, Nasrallah underlined that Hezbollah is “not occupying homes or villages in Syria.”