Hariri: Aoun, Berri Promote Syrian Meal That We Won”t Eat

 
Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri on Wednesday rejected a proposal by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for a tripartite distribution of equal shares in the forthcoming cabinet as a Syrian inspired recipe.

 

Hariri, in a statement distributed by his press office, said backstage contacts have not resulted in a compromise.

The Hizbullah-led opposition, according to Hariri, is orchestrating a two-pronged maneuver that “does not lead to the required exit.”

 

“The first trend, as outlined by Gen. Michel Aoun, adheres to veto powers (in the cabinet) and the second path, outlined by Berri, promotes the idea of three equal shares, which is a Syrian originated idea that aimed from the beginning at blocking the presidential election and bypassing the framework set by the Arab initiative,” Hariri noted.

 

The March 14 leadership “would take part in the third round of dialogue with full commitment to the spirit and text of the Arab initiative as outlined by Arab league Secretary General Amr Moussa,” Hariri said.

 

He stressed that Moussa”s interpretation of the Arab initiative “does not cancel the majority, does not give the opposition veto rights and does not set any conditions regarding the government, the premier, and the portfolios.”

 

Hariri said any proposals that contradict Moussa”s original interpretation of the Arab initiative is an attempt to “leap into non-existing expectations and into a recipe that is in the making at the Syrian regime”s kitchens.”

“We, along with the rest of the Lebanese, are not obliged to eat the Syrian meal,” he concluded.