NNA - Head of the "Free Patriotic Movement", MP Gebran Bassil, considered that "there is no republic without a president", calling in this context on the Resistance "to be in the service of the country and not the opposite".

He said: "We went through a phase in which the Shiite duo raised the slogan of no ceasefire in Lebanon without having the same in Gaza. We were not convinced and did not agree to this matter. Rather, we sent a written letter on April 8, demanding a ceasefire. We asked Hezbollah who can guarantee that Israel will stop the war on Lebanon if the ceasefire in Gaza stops...?" He added regretfully that this is what happened, for when Lebanon belatedly called for a ceasefire, Israel refused. 

Gebran stressed that the election of a president for the republic is in Lebanon's interest, and called for abstaining from linking Lebanon and its interests to matters beyond its control.

"There is no republic or country without a president," he reiterated, stressing that the resistance ought to be serving the country's interest and not the other way around.

==========R.Sh.