Report: March 14 MPs to Attend Berri Luncheon Banquet in Armenian President's Honor

Lawmakers from the Mustaqbal bloc and March 14-led opposition will attend the luncheon banquet thrown by Speaker Nabih Berri in honor of Armenian President Serzh Sargysyan on Tuesday, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

It added that Mustaqbal bloc head MP Fouad Saniora will not be able to attend the banquet because he will be traveling.

An Nahar revealed however that the speaker and former premier had agreed to meet soon.

The agreement was made when Saniora congratulated Berri on the occasion of Lebanon's Independence Day on Thursday.

A parliamentary session was supposed to be held in Sargysyan's honor, but Berri canceled it due to some MPs' commitment to attending the Vatican ceremony on Saturday that witnessed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's appointment as cardinal.

The speaker instead invited lawmakers to attend a lunch banquet at Ain al-Tineh in the Armenian president's honor.

Sargysyan is due to arrive in Lebanon on November 27 on a three-day official visit.

Sharp differences surfaced recently between the March 14 coalition and Berri after the opposition accused the speaker of luring it to attend parliamentary sessions despite vows by the coalition to boycott all legislative activity.

The opposition decided to boycott parliamentary activities after the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in October.

The alliance accuses the Syrian regime of being behind the murder and blames Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet for covering the crime.