The governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, reiterated reassurances yesterday that the Central Bank has the capability and the will to defend the lira, and to maintain stable interest rates, while political turmoil grips the country. The reassurances came in a statement issued by the Central Bank following a visit that Salameh made to the residence of the caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The visit generated wild speculations over the state of the lira. “The visit was not hurriedly arranged. It was scheduled from before,” the statement said.