Hariri: the opposition cannot be in the government and at the same time criticize it
Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri said from Bkirki on Tuesday that Lebanon will not engage in direct talks with Israel because the national interest requires so.
"We want just peace for Lebanon and Syria. We in Lebanon will not engage in direct negotiations with Israel because the national interest requires so," Hariri said after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.
"We hope peace is achieved" between Syria and Israel, he said.
He criticized Syria for drafting a document defining the boundaries of the occupied Golan Heights and waiting for an Israeli reply through Turkish mediators.
"We asked the Syrian government to demarcate the border (with Lebanon) and the answer was it won”t delineate the boundary as long as the Shebaa Farms remain occupied," Hariri said. Now "we see President Assad asking Israel to demarcate the border and occupied territory in the Golan."
He hailed Sfeir, saying the Patriarch "is Lebanon”s conscience."
About the elections, Hariri said: "We want them to be held in a transparent and democratic (way). And no one has an interest in postponing them."
"The opposition no longer exists since we are all in the government now," Hariri said.
"The opposition cannot be in the government and at the same time criticize it," he added.
Hariri also stressed on stability in order to improve the economy.