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Beirut: Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib announced Thursday that he had agreed with President Michel Aoun to “wait and give more time” for consultations to form the government.
This came at a press conference held by Adib, after his meeting with Aoun at the Presidential Palace, east of Beirut.
Adeeb said: “I reviewed with the President of the Republic the difficulties we face in forming a government, and I am fully aware that we do not have the luxury of time and I count on everyone’s cooperation.”
Adeeb did not mention any other details about the period he agreed on with President Aoun, and did not respond to questions from journalists about it.
For his part, President Aoun asked Adeeb to continue with the necessary contacts to address the government’s file. “Because current circumstances require swift rescue action … 16 days after assignment.”
In a statement to the presidency, Aoun reiterated his affirmation of “adhering to the French initiative in all its components, which had been approved by the political leaderships.”
Before his meeting with Aoun, Adeeb met at the second presidential headquarters in Ain al-Tineh in Beirut, Hussein Khalil, the political assistant to the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, and Representative Ali Hassan Khalil, the political assistant to the president of Parliament, Nabih Berri.
“OTV” (a private channel affiliated with the presidency) quoted sources close to the end of its meeting with the advisers, saying that “there is no white smoke or change of positions”, indicating that the problem of the Shiite ministers is not resolved.
The Shiite duo “Hezbollah” and the “Amal Movement” adhere to the portfolio of the Ministry of Finance. The speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri (head of the Amal Movement), said, in an earlier statement, that “the obtaining of this bag by the Shiites is a matter of charity.”
The Lebanese media described the instability by calling this ministerial portfolio a “financial knot”, especially in light of the exhaustion of the 15-day period without announcing the formation of the new government.
On August 31, Aoun assigned Adib to form a government to succeed his predecessor, led by Hassan Diab, who resigned on August 10, six days after a catastrophic explosion in the port of the capital, Beirut.
The assignment coincided with an inspection visit to Beirut by the French president, whom the Lebanese parties accuse of interfering in his country’s internal affairs, including the government formation process, in an attempt to preserve Paris’s influence in Lebanon. .
On Wednesday, the French presidency expressed “regret” at the lack of respect by Lebanese politicians for the promises they made during Macron’s visit to form a government in 15 days.
(Anatolia)
