Assad to Aoun: You Deserve Credit for Presidential Election, Cabinet Formation
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly told visiting Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun that he deserves credit for two major accomplishments – Lebanese presidential election and formation of a national unity government.
The daily As-Safir on Thursday said Assad told Aoun during a meeting between the two men in Damascus on Wednesday that he appreciates the "big national role" the FPM leader played in achieving national Lebanese unity and getting Lebanon out of both the Presidential and Cabinet conflicts.
Ad-Diyar newspaper, for its part, said Aoun briefed Assad on his recent visit to Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and the bishops and the assurances he gave them regarding resistance weapons.
It said Aoun asked Assad to invite him the Patriarch and the Maronite bishops to Syria so that they could "personally hear "assurances from the Syrian president regarding the region.
Ad-Diyar said Aoun was trying to prepare for a meeting between Sfeir and Syrian officials to hear assurances from them concerning Hizbullah arms.