Kataeb politburo member Serge Dagher on Friday blasted the Presidential settlement as he noted the party objects to it and all those associated with it.

In an interview on MTV channel, Dagher stressed that the deal that was sealed over the past two years proved that the alliances made ahead of the presidential settlement were not based on solid grounds; it has significantly legitimized Hezbollah's arms and boosted its presence in Lebanon.

“We have warned against adopting this political settlement that would bring Lebanon under Hezbollah’s tutelage”

"Time has shown that our stance was accurate and that we were right about what we warned against"

“Hezbollah’s arms are implicating Lebanon and the Lebanese who are paying the price because of the party’s choices,” he stressed.

“Every person who places another state’s interests above Lebanon’s is an agent for that state”

“Those who believe they cannot implement change, in fact lack awareness. The people have lost trust in politicians as they no longer believe that someone can claim their rights and defend them pro bono,” he stated.

The Kataeb official assured that there’s no concentrated argument or a personal problem between the Kataeb party and the Lebanese forces, emphasizing that the main divergence is the presidential settlement the LF got involved in which occurred in 2016; the one that led to the election of a March 8 president, Michel Aoun, while the Kataeb party then chose to remain outside of it.

Dagher mentioned that the Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel’s speech sparked tensions among the LF affiliates but that in fact it was inclusive and put the finger right on the problem.

“The Reconciliation between the LF and the Free Patriotic Movement was called for but we reject an alliance that was built on common interests rather than clear constants,” he indicated.

“The LF presence in the government legitimizes the status quo so I call on this party’s leaders to resign from it,” he noted.

“We don’t believe in estrangement between the Lebanese; we have different opponents given that we are an opposition force and accordingly it is our duty to play our role,” Dagher said.

“I defy any person who would claim that we asked for any ministerial seat; we have played the role of opposition although we could’ve been part of the government,” he rejoined.

“Foreign leaders are chastising us for our sake, including [US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David] Schenker and [French presidential envoy Pierre] Dukan,” he noted, adding that “they inform us of how keen they are to help us but would doubt our respective actions.”

“We are comfortable to the Saudi axis more than we are to the Iranian one, given that the former supports the state of Lebanon whereas the latter endorses a certain party at the state’s expense,” he declared.