Naharnet

Riachi, Khoury in 'Near-Daily Communication' to Mend LF-Mustaqbal Ties

There is “near-daily communication” between Information Minister Melhem Riachi and Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury with the aim of mending ties between the Lebanese Forces and al-Mustaqbal Movement, according to a Mustaqbal source.

“The LF is dismayed by (Prime Minister Saad) Hariri’s alliance with President Michel Aoun, while the problem (of the LF) is not with al-Mustaqbal’s leader in this regard but rather with the Free Patriotic Movement, due to the dispute over administrative appointments that was reflected by LF’s ministers during cabinet sessions,” the source told al-Hayat newspaper in remarks published Sunday, noting that the LF and the FPM have also started to compete over Christian votes in connection with the upcoming parliamentary polls.

“Some of the bickering is related to very premature calculations regarding the (2022) presidential race,” the source added, stressing that “Mustaqbal has nothing to do with the proper implementation of the Maarab agreement between the two parties.”

Hariri had on Wesnesday described his relation with the Lebanese Forces as “good” while noting that it needs “some clarifications.”

“The press is blowing things out of proportion,” he noted.

The premier had sparked a storm of speculation on Monday when he said that certain “political parties” had stabbed him in the back during the political crisis of his surprise resignation announcement from Riyadh.

“There are political parties that tried to find a place for them in this crisis by stabbing me in the back and I will deal with these cases, case by case, but I do not hold grudge against anyone,” Hariri said.


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