Report: Nasrallah-Aoun Meeting 'Inevitable' as FPM Decides Escalation

A meeting between Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his ally founder of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun is expected to take place soon, as the FPM vow to escalate measures and launch street rallies should their demand to bring Aoun to the top Christian post fail, As Safir daily reported on Thursday.

Sources told the daily on condition of anonymity that the meeting between Aoun and Nasrallah is “inevitable”. It will take place either before the cabinet meets on September 28, if it guarantees to bring Aoun to the seat of the presidency, or after the cabinet meeting in order to put the leadership of Hizbullah in the picture as for the escalation planned by the FPM after the last chance to bring Aoun as president fails.

FPM senior figures said that the outcome of the cabinet session on September 28 will be a turning point. It is either that an agreement is reached during the meeting to elect Aoun as head of state or resort to the plan of escalating measures as vowed by the FPM.

On the other hand, al-Joumhouria daily said that Wafik Safa, the person responsible for the Liaison Committee and Coordination in Hizbullah, met Aoun last week and met with FPM leader Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil twice.

Discussion focused on the FPM decision to escalate measures and boycott the cabinet meetings.

The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc announced Wednesday that it has started mobilizing for street protests on September 28 and October 13 as part of its escalatory steps that are aimed at pressing the other parties in the country to “abide by the National Pact.”

Bassil has threatened that the FPM would “topple the government” through street protests if the other parties do not heed the movement's demand regarding “partnership” and the National Pact.

The FPM, which has the biggest Christian bloc in parliament, has suspended its participation in cabinet sessions and national dialogue meetings over accusations that other parties in the country are not respecting the National Pact