Cabinet Not on Kouchner”s Agenda during his 2-Day Visit to Beirut
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will not discuss the issue of cabinet formation during his two-day visit to Beirut on Thursday, the foreign ministry in Paris announced.
Kouchner arrives in Beirut Thursday evening for talks with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, PM-designate Saad Hariri, caretaker Premier Fouad Saniora, Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun, Phalange chief Amin Gemayel, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and a Hizbullah representative, who will most probably be MP Mohammed Raad.
Well-informed sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that the French FM will not meet with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for security reasons.
Upon his arrival, Kouchner will head to Beiteddine to attend a concert by French singer Charles Aznavour. He will later meet with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.
The French foreign ministry announced Tuesday that Kouchner "will not discuss the cabinet issue with Lebanese officials because it is purely an internal matter."
Al-Hayat”s sources said the foreign minister will touch upon the issues of French-Lebanese ties, Lebanese-Syrian relations, the problem of Lebanese detainees in Syria, demarcation of the border and U.S. efforts to restart peace talks in the region.
On Damascus, diplomatic sources told An Nahar newspaper that Syria adopted a "positive stance" from the June 7 parliamentary elections in Lebanon.
"France hopes that Damascus would facilitate efforts to form a national unity cabinet headed by Saad Hariri," the sources said, adding that Paris was comfortable with the rapprochement between Syria and Saudi Arabia which it hoped would lead to good results in Lebanon.
Kouchner is expected to discuss with Hizbullah the issue of Clotilde Reiss, the French academic held for spying in Iran. Al-Hayat”s sources said Paris will pressure all sides that have good relations with Tehran, including Turkey, Syria, Qatar and Hizbulalh, to demand the release of the lecturer at Isfahan university.
After his two-day visit to Beirut, Kouchner will travel to Damascus Saturday morning.