Bassil: Hariri Spoke of Specific Deadline and We're Seeking Strategic Agreement with Mustaqbal

W460

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil announced Thursday that ex-PM Saad Hariri spoke of a “specific deadline” for declaring his stance on the presidential nomination of FPM founder MP Michel Aoun during their latest meeting in Rabieh.

“Our cause today is preserving the Lebanon of the National Pact, the Lebanon of equality and partnership and the Lebanon that has a State,” Bassil said in an interview on LBCI television.

Confirming that “several” FPM-Mustaqbal meetings had preceded the Aoun-Hariri talks, Bassil stressed that no secret deals have been reached between the two parties and that they are not seeking agreements targeted against any political parties.

“We did not agree on postponing the parliamentary election but rather on reciprocity and on a national unity government,” Bassil said.

“I cannot confirm that Hariri has decided to endorse the General's nomination before he announces it,” he added.

Bassil also noted that the FPM understood from the latest meetings that the political obstacles that were preventing Mustaqbal from backing Aoun have been resolved.

As for the Saudi stance, Bassil said the FPM has no information about the so-called Saudi veto on Aoun's nomination and whether it still exists or not.

“The kingdom is saying that it is not concerned with the presidential file and that it is leaving the choice to the Lebanese, but some parties want to forcibly involve it in the issue,” the FPM chief added.

“We have a strategic goal to reach an agreement with Mustaqbal because Lebanon cannot stabilize without an agreement with the main representative of the Sunni community,” Bassil went on to say.

As for the stances of Speaker Nabih Berri and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, Bassil admitted that there is a “problem” with them regarding Aoun's nomination, noting that it must be “addressed.”

He also described Franjieh as “a patriotic person who has his popular base and the right to nominate himself like any other Lebanese Maronite.”

Asked about Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's latest stances against Saudi Arabia, Bassil stressed that they do not reflect the stances of “the Lebanese foreign ministry, the Lebanese government or even the FPM.”

Hariri's recent return to Lebanon has triggered a flurry of reports about a possible presidential settlement and the ex-PM is exploring the possibility of endorsing Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Comments 2
Missing humble 13 October 2016, 23:40

Imbassil w bass!!!

Thumb liberty 14 October 2016, 03:51

“Our cause today is preserving the Lebanon of the National Pact, the Lebanon of equality and partnership and the Lebanon that has a State,” Bassil said in an interview on LBCI television.

and to achieve those goals he and his corrupt non patriotic party support an armed sectarian militia that takes decisions on peace and war and wages wars regionally without referring to the Lebanese people or their institutions.