BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri is set to wrap up a five-day official visit to Washington Friday after meeting with more senior U.S. officials and stressing that his trip was aimed at protecting Lebanon from the repercussions of fresh sanctions by the Congress on Hezbollah.

Hariri met Thursday with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan in his office on Capitol Hill, discussing bilateral relations, including Congress plans to slap new sanctions on Hezbollah, which Washington labels a “terrorist organization.”

The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh and Nader Hariri, the premier’s chief of staff.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Ryan, which he described as “very good,” Hariri said: “All our efforts during this visit are focused on the issue of [Syrian] refugees and security. Here in Congress, we are discussing the decisions they are preparing against Lebanon. Therefore, we are discussing ways to protect Lebanon from these sanctions. God willing, we will be able to convince them of this.”

Asked whether he was facing a difficult mission in his attempts to have the proposed draft sanctions legislation against Hezbollah amended to avert any negative effects on the Lebanese economy, Hariri said: “My mission is to protect Lebanon. Hezbollah is already on America’s terrorism list. We must protect Lebanese banks and the Lebanese people from any broad decision that affects the people who have bank accounts because this will affect the Lebanese national economy.”

When told that the draft legislation states that sanctions will cover anyone who cooperates or coordinates with Hezbollah, Hariri said, “We are trying to make the issue more specific so it will not hurt the Lebanese.”

Hariri’s remarks came after Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on July 20 seeking to bolster sanctions against Hezbollah, accusing the Iranian-backed group of violence in Syria and amassing rockets along Israel’s border. However, there was no immediate word on when or if the legislation might come up for vote in the House or Senate. Among other things, the legislation would crack down on countries, including Iran, that support Hezbollah, and bar anyone found to be supporting the group from entering the U.S. Politicians and bankers in Lebanon are worried that U.S. efforts to widen sanctions on Hezbollah could damage the country’s banking industry because of the group’s widespread influence in the country.

During his official visit, which he began Monday, Hariri has met with U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior officials with talks focusing on combating terrorism, the Syrian refugee crisis, military aid to the Lebanese Army and sanctions against Hezbollah.

Asked to comment on Trump calling Hezbollah a “menace” to the Lebanese state and people and the entire region after equating the group to Daesh (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, Hariri said: “You have heard from the president of the United States their stance regarding Hezbollah. We have to protect Lebanon from any repercussions. What is important for me is to protect the Lebanese institutions and the Lebanese people and maintain the aid to the Lebanese Army which was very useful in fighting terrorism. We have to focus on this issue. As for Hezbollah, the American position is known and not new.”

One major outcome of the visit, the first by a high-ranking Lebanese official since Trump took office in January, was the State Department’s announcement Wednesday of a further $140 million assistance package to help Lebanon cope with the Syrian refugee crisis. The announcement came after Hariri’s meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the State Department in Washington.

Asked if he was reassured during the visit about Washington’s continued support for Lebanon, Hariri said, “I am reassured and God willing, they will continue with us on this path and the work we are doing.”

Later, Hariri and the accompanying delegation met with Rep. Darrell Issa, whose father is a Lebanese-American, at his office in Congress, in the presence of the members of the House U.S.-Lebanon Friendship Caucus that includes Issa, Charlie Crist, Darin LaHood and Debbie Dingell.

Hariri sought to reassure Lebanese banks over the anti-Hezbollah sanctions. “All the negotiations were important and we hope that things will be positive regarding the Lebanese banks and the Lebanese people because in the end the banks protect the Lebanese accounts and this is what is important to us,” Hariri said after the meeting.

Asked if his demand to have the sanctions specified and not broad has been accepted, he said: “I think that if we read the new text, we can see that it took this issue into consideration and we are working for it to be more specific.”

For his part, Issa said he reassured Hariri.

“It is very clear that one of the issues that the prime minister was concerned about and we discussed was how to make sure that any sanctions against Hezbollah do not punish the Lebanese people or the Lebanese economy,” Issa said. “And he got an assurance from all of us that the goal is to limit money use for terrorism but at the same time to make sure that the Lebanese economy is protected. Additionally, we talked about Lebanon’s continued fight against terrorism and against ISIS [Daesh] and the new equipment that Lebanon is using to protect its borders.”

Issa added that the talks also covered regional issues and the natural gas fields and how to further expand the Lebanese economy by taking advantage of its rich resources offshore.

Asked if Hariri’s visit would change anything in the sanctions, Issa said: “I think Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s visit is important because the administration wants to make sure that the legislation leaves the ability for our country to use the Treasury to work with Lebanon to stop inappropriate funds, but at the same time not hurt the Lebanese economy and that was heard loud and clear.” Issa called for Hezbollah to be disarmed and integrated into the Lebanese society.

Hariri later on met separately with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Senator Angus King and Senator Tom Cotton.

The PM met Wednesday night with U.S. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin at the ministry in Washington with talks focusing on financial relations between the two countries.