President Trump's Jerusalem decision likely to undermine regional peace process

Minister of the Interior, Nohad Machnouk, Sunday praised the way that President Michel Aoun is ruling the country, saying, "positions of President Aoun this year have evolved into a greater openness towards all political counterparts and understanding of all the constitutional mechanisms necessary for the country."

"President Aoun is keen on political consensus and compliance with the constitution and laws, in accordance with his constitutional powers," Machnouk said during a meeting with members of the Future Movement's free professionals' sector in Beirut.

"The settlement that brought General Aoun to Baabda suffered minor tremors that could be overcome," he added, noting that "every passing day shows more and more that the President recognizes and acknowledges all others and is committed to dealing with them politically and accepting their differences."

Commenting on the recent statements within the Parliament Council regarding Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, Machnouk considered such talk as "inaccurate, to say the least!"

He described Governor Salameh as "a national and international guarantee for monetary stability in Lebanon," while referring to the great success he has achieved thus far, with the acknowledgement of the world's central bank governors.

"We have to be self-confident and self-reliant. Self-confidence has become an autonomous industry and an act of faith that cannot be abandoned under any circumstance and for any reason, for we are living in a transition period in the region and our priority is to maintain stability until the regional picture is clear," Machnouk concluded

Source: NNA