Sources: Mustaqbal Seeking to Revive Ties with LF Despite 'Betrayal'

The latest differences between Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on the presidential elections drew the allies in the March 14 alliance further apart.

Al-Akhbar daily on Monday quoted sources as saying that the differences between the two politicians have become “personal.”

“Hariri believes that Geagea betrayed him” after the LF chief withdrew from the presidential race and backed his long-time rival Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun, said the sources.

According to the newspaper, there had been an agreement between the two March 14 allies for Geagea not to back Aoun in return for Hariri to withdraw his support for Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh.

Geagea's endorsement for Aoun last month came several weeks after the Mustaqbal chief struck a deal with Franjieh to back him for the presidency in return for Hariri to return to Lebanon and become prime minister.

Although the candidacies of Aoun and Franjieh led to severe divisions among the rival factions, a Mustaqbal official said that the movement will try to bridge the gap with the LF.

The official told al-Mustaqbal daily that there should be an attempt to activate dialogue between the two sides.

G.K.

D.A.