Qassem Sees No Need for a Meeting with Gemayel, Geagea and Asks for Explanations from Sfeir
Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem has asked Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir for explanations and said serious consultations on cabinet formation haven”t started yet.
In an interview with al-Jadeed TV station Sunday night, Qassem called for an explanation from Bkirki on Sfeir”s statement a day before the June 7 polls that the opposition”s victory in the elections threatens the Lebanese entity.
"We decided in consultation with the opposition to announce a common stance whether to participate in government or not," Qassem said in the interview.
"We haven”t entered into a direct discussion" on the issue of government formation, he told al-Jadeed.
The Hizbullah deputy secretary general also expected behind-the-scene consultations to reach a compromise between the majority and opposition, adding that the Syrian-Saudi agreement will reflect positively on the country.
Qassem insisted that a meeting between Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Phalange leader Amin Gemayel on one hand and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea on the other couldn”t be held before they review their speeches.
The top Hizbullah official, however, told his interviewer that nothing prevents a meeting between Nasrallah and al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri.
Qassem also accused the majority in parliament to be shackled and not able to act on their own.
On the agreement with Gen. Michel Aoun”s Free Patriotic Movement, Qassem said that the agreement is on the defense strategy.