Report: Diab’s Initiative 'Doesn't' Solve Govt Impasse

W460

An initiative made by Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab in a bid to ease the government formation hurdle, is "unable" to make any progress because the problem rests with President Michel Aoun, the Saudi Asharq el-Awsat reported on Wednesday.

Sources following up on Diab’s Tuesday move towards Aoun, the PM-designate Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri, told the daily it “did not open a gap in the wall of obstacles hampering the formation process,” noting that reviving it only rests in the hands of the President.

Hariri’s adviser and al-Mustaqbal Movement official Moustafa Allouch described Diab’s move to the newspaper as “utopianistic.”

Allouch said it came to “clarify Aoun’s positions after his insults against Hariri in the presence of Diab. It is a kind endeavor but does not rise to be called an initiative, there is a kind of utopianism in it.”

A war of words had recently erupted between Hariri and Aoun’s camp after the president was caught on camera accusing the PM-designate of “lying.”

On the other hand, al-Akhbar daily reported that Diab’s move came with a push from the General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who "arranged" Diab’s meeting with Hariri.

On Tuesday, Diab held separate meetings with Aoun, Berri and Hariri in an initiative aimed at facilitating the formation of the new government.

SourceNaharnet
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