BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says Hezbollah resistance movement plays a crucial role in Lebanon’s political sphere.
At the conclusion of a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club held in the Russian resort city of Sochi, the Russian head of state said on Thursday, “Hezbollah is a significant political force in Lebanon.”
Putin noted that Russia “practically communicates with all political forces in Lebanon and will continue to do so.”
“In Russia, they are completely concerned with finding common ground for an agreement between the Lebanese parties without a fight,” he said, adding, “We are working with all the Lebanese to prevent bloodshed.”
Meanwhile, a top official said Hezbollah has never been a tool used against the Lebanese people, stressing that the resistance group keeps the specter of war away from the Mediterranean country.
“The capabilities of the resistance and the strength of the resistance have always been, since its inception, devoted to protecting Lebanon and defending the Lebanese, and it has never been a tool to intimidate the Lebanese or sabotage their ... life or civil peace,” said Vice President of the Executive Council of Hezbollah Sheikh Ali Damoush.
Sheikh Damoush said Hezbollah’s capabilities created deterrence against the enemy and prevented the invasion of Lebanon by Takfiri terrorists.
Hezbollah’s strength “protects [Lebanon’s] stability and civil peace, prevents internal fighting and keeps the specter of civil war away from Lebanon,” he said.
The Hezbollah official dismissed allegations that the resistance movement is a source of anxiety and fear, saying that the group is rather a source of reassurance and stability as well as a source of resolving the country’s problems.
Hezbollah “contributes to alleviating the repercussions of crises that people are going through on the social, economic and living levels,” he said.
He further emphasized that Hezbollah does not want to be dragged into a civil war and will do everything it can to prevent a “dirty” war of such kind.
“Had it not been for the people of patience and insight, Lebanon today would have been inflamed and ablaze with the fire of haters and civil warlords,” he remarked.
The remarks came in light of a killing spree targeting Hezbollah supporters in Beirut last Thursday that killed at least seven people and injured dozens more.
Geagea Summoned

Lebanon’s military court has summoned Samir Geagea, the leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces (LF) political party, over the killing of seven Shia Muslims in Beirut during last week’s violence.
Lebanese media outlets on Thursday reported that the court summoned Geagea to hear his testimony on the October 14 violence in light of the confessions of those detained over the clashes.
At least seven people were killed and 60 others injured in an attack on October 14, during which supporters of Hezbollah resistance movement were shot from rooftops while they were gathering to peacefully protest against a judge investigating last year’s Beirut Port explosion as they accused him of bias.
In a statement, Hezbollah and its ally Amal Movement said armed groups affiliated with the LF party, a former militia group during the 1975-1990 civil war, fired at the protesters from rooftops, aiming at their heads, in an attempt to drag Lebanon into new sectarian strife.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday said that “the real program for the Lebanese Forces is civil war”.