Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Friday that President Michel Aoun is the “guardian of the Constitution,” and described his stances during a heated Cabinet meeting on Thursday as “honorable.”
Rahi whose remarks came after meeting Aoun at the Presidential Palace said: “The President is the guardian of the Constitution and the guardian of the people. His stance at the Cabinet yesterday was honorable.”
“The Constitution is clear and Article 49 is also clear and the President has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution, the sovereignty of the nation, the unity of the people and the affairs of the state. He does not infringe upon anyone, the country would collapse in the absence of the president," said Rahi.
On the file of Syrian refugees and Aoun’s adamant insistence to resolve the file without linking it to a political solution in Syria, Rahi said: “If we wait for a political solution for the Syrian crisis in order for the refugees to return home, we will get what happened to us in the Palestinian file.”
Aoun on Thursday ended the Cabinet's first session after a heated debate erupted over the thorny issue of relations with Syria.