Lebanon hopes boosting relations with new U.S. administration

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun expressed Thursday his hope that the election victory of Donald Trump will create "a new chance for Lebanon and the United States."

The media office of the Presidency said in a statement that Aoun told the U.S. president-elect in a congratulatory cable that "your election represents a bright hallmark in the history of democracy and in resorting to people's will in choosing their rulers."

He wishes the two countries will enhance the bilateral cooperation "for the sake of achieving peace in the Middle East, confronting terrorism, and putting an end to wars and violence through peaceful means."

Aoun was elected on Oct. 31 as the 13th President of Lebanon, ending a vacuum of more than two and half years in the post that started with the end of the six-year tenure of former President Michel Suleiman on May 2014.