Hariri from Tripoli: Those Who Believe they Can Marginalize us are Being Delusional

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri began his three-day visit to the northern city of Tripoli on Wednesday by meeting a number of officials from the city, saying before the visiting delegations that the March 14 camp will work on empowering the state.

He said that it aspires for the state to have the decision of war and peace and maintain the people's security and stability.

"This is not an impossible proposal as some sides are trying to demonstrate … but it is a goal that we will work to accomplish for the sake of the country and the Lebanese," he continued.

"Everyone knows the sacrifices we presented during the past six years in the name of maintaining national unity and I have been honest in my negotiations with the other sides in order to achieve comprehensive and real national reconciliation between all Lebanese," he added.

Hariri said of the reconciliation meeting that was supposed to be held in Saudi Arabia: "It's illogical that disputes that arose during the civil war that ended 20 years ago" still persist between the Lebanese."

"We were not negotiating from a position of weakness as some sides believe, but we were negotiating from a position of popular backing, which placed its trust in us during the last parliamentary elections, in order to end the country's political crisis," he stressed.

"Those who believe that toppling the government and pressuring some political sides through arms would alter the balance of power in their favor and marginalize us are being completely delusional," he added.

Hariri said that terrorizing the people will fail as demonstrated in the March 14 rally on Sunday.

"We vow to continue former PM Rafik Hariri's mission, that of developing and modernizing the state and society," he stressed.

Hariri later met with a number of clerics from the North, after which he stated that he presented all he could to settle the ongoing political crisis, including heading to Syria and Iran “causing some of you to question the purpose of all the concessions I made.|

“I was aware that I was losing the political and popular battle … but when the situation reached the point of trying to eliminate me politically, I put my foot down,” he stressed.

Furthermore, he stressed that the reconciliation meeting that was supposed to be held in Saudi Arabia was not aimed at tackling the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, but addressing the repercussions of the indictment.

“I could have remained in power and abandoned my allies as some were hoping, but I will not abandon those who stood by me and this issue is nonnegotiable,” Hariri concluded.