Naharnet

Aoun Visits al-Rahi, Receives Phone Call from Jumblat

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun held talks Thursday in Bkirki with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

The two-hour meeting tackled “the general situations in the country, especially the presidential election and the work of the government, in addition to the regional situations and their repercussions on Lebanon,” state-run National News Agency said.

The two men stressed “the need to communicate with all parties to reach solutions that preserve national unity and the National Pact.”

The National Pact is a 1943 unwritten agreement that set the foundations of modern Lebanon as a multi-confessional state.

Later on Thursday, Aoun received a phone call from Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.

Jumblat stressed to Aoun that he is pinning hopes “on his wisdom in this critical period that Lebanon is going through,” the National News Agency said.

He also underlined his keenness on “the continuation of communication and consultations” with the FPM chief.

The country has been without a president since Michel Suleiman's term ended in May 2014. Aoun is one of the main presidential candidates.

The presidential vacuum has been increasingly affecting the work of the government and the parliament.

Aoun and his ministers are accusing Prime Minister Tammam Salam of infringing on the jurisdiction of the Christian president, arguing that the cabinet's decrees and resolutions must enjoy the approval of all ministers, or blocs, in the event of a presidential vacuum.

Y.R.

M.T.


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/188488