BEIRUT: The Lebanese presidency denied that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had been kept waiting ahead of a meeting with President Michel Aoun on Thursday at the presidential palace, where he sat for several minutes before his Lebanese counterpart greeted him. Television footage showed Tillerson sitting in a room alongside an empty seat before Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil walked in and shook his hand. Rafic Chlela, head of the media office, said Tillerson had arrived a few minutes earlier than expected and the meeting began on time. “President, thank you for the warm welcome and the open, frank, and productive discussion,” Tillerson wrote in the Lebanese palace’s visitor’s book after the talks. “The United States stands with the Lebanese people for a free and democratic Lebanon.”Chlela said the head of protocol directly greeted Tillerson at the Baabda presidential palace.

Source: Pakistan Today February 15, 2018 11:37 UTC