Miqati Insists He Won't Sign Agreement Cancelling International Tribunal

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati has reportedly denied he had promised outgoing PM Saad Hariri that he will give him written answers to his demands before taking a decision on whether or not he would take part in the new Cabinet.

Hariri and his Al-Mustaqbal Movement on Thursday demanded that Miqati clarify his position on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) before Hariri would make a decision to join or not to join the new government.

An-Nahar newspaper on Friday quoted sources close to Miqati as saying that the billionaire businessman informed Al-Mustaqbal bloc during Thursday's meeting as part of efforts to form a new government that "any controversial issue should be resolved through dialogue and by means of an understanding among Lebanese."

"There is a contradiction between the demands of the two political camps," Miqati reportedly said.

In remarks published Friday by An-Nahar newspaper, Miqati insisted he would not sign any agreement canceling the international tribunal "which is an irreversible international decision."

As to the Cabinet structure, Miqati told OTV that options were still open as to whether the government would be made up exclusively of technocrats, or a mix between technocrats and politicians.

Miqati said Hizbullah would join a Cabinet in which political groups are represented.

Caretaker State Minister Jean Oghassabian on Friday, nevertheless, said the March 14 coalition has suspicions over the intentions of the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance.

He said there is a good chance that March 14, to which Hariri belongs, would not take part in the Miqati-led Cabinet "since we believe March 8 has an intention to abolish the tribunal, while we consider the STL is a necessity."