Report: U.S. Backs Forming New Govt., but Rejects Steps that May Jeopardize Lebanon's Stability
The United States supports the formation of a new government in Lebanon, but it also sets as a priority the preservation of stability in Lebanon, As Safir newspaper on Saturday.
It also opposes any measure that may jeopardize Lebanon's stability, U.S. Ambassador David Hale told President Michel Suleiman during a meeting they held away from the media spotlight between Christmas and New Year's eve.
He warned that such as measure may lead to Hizbullah seizing control over the whole of Lebanon.
In a related development, An Nahar daily reported on Saturday that Suleiman, in agreement with Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, had decided to “give a new chance to the formation of an all-embracing cabinet.”
Sources monitoring the government consultations told the daily that Suleiman's envoy Khalil al-Hrawi relayed the president's position to head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora on Thursday and to the political aide of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hussein Khalil.
For his part, Salam had held talks with Saniora to this end on Thursday.
Salam had also discussed the government formation efforts with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Friday.
The sources revealed that the president and PM-designate are urging all political powers to abandon the conditions and counter-conditions they are placing on the formation of a cabinet.
Jumblat is playing a major role to this end, they told An Nahar.
The March 14 camp has been demanding that a new government should not include Hizbullah members.
Jumblat and the Hizbullah-led March 8 camp have meanwhile warned against the formation of a “de facto” cabinet, suggesting instead the formation of a national government that grants nine ministers to each of the March 8 and 14 forces and six to centrists.
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