Mashnouq Says Cabinet 'Remains Necessity for All'
Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq stressed on Sunday that the cabinet of Prime Minister Tammam Salam “remains a necessity for all” rivals.
“Despite all the developments, we are still capable of locating agreement amid the absence of a head of state and the regional conflicts,” Mashnouq said in comments published in the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper.
He stressed that the government is holding onto the dissociation policy to fend off rift among the political arch-foes, which could topple the cabinet.
“The cabinet aims at safeguarding the unity of the country and serve the citizens,” Mashnouq added.
Salam stressed on Wednesday during a cabinet session that his position at the recent Arab League summit stemmed from his keenness on Lebanon and its role in the Arab community.
He emphasized that his stance reflected Lebanon's interest to remain within the Arab fold and his keenness to keep the country neutral from regional axes and conflicts.
Salam had declared on Tuesday that Lebanon's stance at the Arab summit comes in harmony with the ministerial policy statement.
On Monday, Hizbullah Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan slammed Salam's stances at the Arab summit, pointing out that the PM's remarks do not reflect the viewpoint of all Lebanese, which prompted Salam to threaten to suspend cabinet sessions if any party raised the matter at the upcoming meeting.
Addressing the Arab League summit held in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh last weekend, Salam said Lebanon supported any decision to preserve the territorial integrity of Yemen, reiterating the country's commitment to the dissociation policy and called for distancing Lebanon from the region's conflicts.
The two-day summit ended with a vow to defeat Iranian-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen and the formal unveiling of plans to form a joint Arab intervention force.
A Saudi-led coalition began bombing Yemen last week, saying it was targeting the rebels and their allies.
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah unleashed a tirade against Saudi Arabia after the offensive over its intervention in Yemen, calling it "surprising and painful," and suggesting Riyadh would suffer a "humiliating defeat" if it didn't resolve the conflict through negotiations.
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