MP Nabil de Freij: The opposition is trying to thwart the Arab initiative

 

MP Nabil de Freij of the Future bloc said that MP Saad Hariri is not avoiding dialogue with MP Michel Aoun, “since he has met with him more than once.”

 

“Personally, I don’t think that Hariri will meet with Aoun if he is still insisting on 11 ministers for the opposition and the distribution of the other 19 between the pro-government party and the president,” he told NOW Lebanon.

 

“Aoun’s suggestion means that he considers the president as a party, not as an arbiter, and this is a blow to the Arab initiative,” de Freij said.

 

He also noted that the Free Patriotic Movement’s political rhetoric is increasing Sunni-Christian tension.

 

“Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is very comfortable with this situation because there is an Iranian-Saudi ‘red line’ preventing a Sunni-Shia confrontation,” he added.

 

De Freij said claims that Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea is responsible for obstructing an Aoun-Hariri meeting are not true.

 

“There has not been any obstruction from Geagea or anyone else,” he said.

 

De Freij said that the Qatari prime minister’s visit set for Saturday is aimed at ensuring some guarantees over the Arab initiative.

 

“According to my information, the opposition is insisting on knowing the names of the ministers that will be chosen by the president,” he said.

 

Commenting on fears that the ministers named by the president will abandon him, as was the case with former President Emile Lahoud, de Freij said, “either we trust General Sleiman or we don’t.”

 

He also said that former President Amin Gemayel’s suggestion of establishing a neutral government is acceptable if it leads to a solution.

 

“Yet, what is a neutral government? Who is neutral anymore in Lebanon? But if Gemayel has names, we are willing to discuss them,” de Freij said.