Lebanese president vows to preserve Hezbollah against Israel

BEIRUT, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Suleiman emphasized the importance of resistance which refers to Hezbollah, stressing that he is keen to preserve it.

Suleiman told local As-Safir newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday that "we need the resistance against Israel and we are keen to preserve it," adding that all statements aiming to reject or undermine the role of the resistance are unimportant.

The resistance refers to the Shiite group Hezbollah, the only Lebanese faction which keeps heavy weapons after the country's civil war ended in 1990, under the pretext of resisting Israel. The group has vowed to keep its arms as long as Israel poses a threat in the region.

On Lebanese-Syrian relations, Suleiman said that the relations are "as perfect and strategic", commending his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad for "his credibility, honesty and sense of ethics".

He said Assad's last week interview with local Al-Manar TV channel was positive, adding that he "adopts the Syrian president' s clear positions with regard to unifying Arab stances and supporting the Palestinian cause as well as the resistance."