Bassil: Meeting with Franjieh 'had to happen', alliance with Amal 'mere electoral'
Free Patriotic Movement head Jebran Bassil has said he hasn't discussed the presidential elections with Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh on a Friday meeting hosted by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Bassil said Sunday night, in a TV interview, that he welcomed Nasrallah's invitation and that he has nothing against Franjieh personally.
"The meeting with Franjieh had to happen; the conflict between us shouldn't have occurred in the first place," Bassil added.
Bassil and Franjieh are both potential candidates for the upcoming presidential elections and are supporting rival electoral lists in the May 15 parliamentary polls.
The ties between the two have been strained for years but both are key allies of Hizbullah.
Franjieh said for his part that they have discussed "turning-the-page" and that there will likely be other meetings.
On another note, Bassil said that no one in the meeting had asked him to vote for Speaker Nabih Berri. He added that the alliance with Amal in the upcoming Parliamentary elections is not "political," but rather a pure "electoral alliance" as both the FPM and Amal have common interests with Hizbullah.
Bassil also slammed Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, accusing him of "buying votes" for the upcoming parliamentary elections with "political money" and of causing President Michel Aoun's failure, in a plot he had planned.
"His plan has succeeded, as the collapse has occurred during the term of President Aoun," Bassil said of Geagea.
Source: Naharnet
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