Hariri Meets Aoun: We Want to Preserve Security, Stability in Lebanon

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday visited the Baabda Palace for talks with President Michel Aoun.

This marked the first meeting between the two leaders since the parliamentary elections that were held on Sunday.

"We want to preserve security, safety and stability in Lebanon," Hariri said after meeting Aoun.

"We are about to enter a better period and a more vigorous parliament," the premier added.

As for the issue of Speaker Nabih Berri's nomination for a new term as head of the legislature, Hariri said: "If Speaker Nabih Berri is nominated for the speakership then we will support him."

Referring to the post-electoral security incidents, the premier emphasized that the army and the security forces "will act in the interest of the Lebanese citizen should instability erupt in any region."

Asked about Berri's insistence on the finance ministry portfolio for the incumbent Ali Hassan Khalil, Hariri said: "There is only one norm in the state and it is related to the presidency, the speakership and the premiership. As for the other norms, I have not heard of them and I'm not willing to recognize them."

Speaking at a Center House rally to celebrate the results that were achieved by al-Mustaqbal Movement, Hariri boasted that his movement "is still the cornerstone of the national equation."

"It still has the biggest partisan bloc in parliament," Hariri added.

The Aoun-Hariri talks come in the wake of the most serious military confrontation between Israel and Iran in Syria.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbullah has sent thousands of fighters into the neighboring country to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.