File photo of former Lebanon President Michel Suleiman at the third Lebanon Economic Forum in Beirut.

:: Former Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said he salutes Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri for his decision to step down.

On Saturday, Hariri announced his resignation in a televised speech, revealing a plot to assassinate him and condemning the role of Iran and Hezbollah in stifling Lebanese reality through interference in the state apparatus.

In statements to Al-Hadath channel, he stated that “what is required now from the President of the Republic is to direct the neutralization of Lebanon.”

Suleiman said that “the repercussions of Hariri’s resignation will be positive.”

Referring to Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon, he stressed that “no state can build another state inside Lebanon” and “there cannot be two armies.”

The former president urged the need “to withdraw Hezbollah from Syria, and to develop a defensive strategy.”

He stressed that “the settlements must not come at the expense of the sovereignty of Lebanon.”