Naharnet

Berri: Country Can't Bear Postponement, Laxity Affects Civil Servants Wages

Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that it is necessary for the cabinet to convene as scheduled on Thursday, warning that “the country cannot bear postponement.”

“Should the situations continue in this manner and this laxity, you can ask Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil about how difficult it would be to pay the salaries of civil servants,” Berri told his visitors in remarks published Wednesday.

Later on Wednesday, Berri received a phone call from Prime Minister Tammam Salam during which the speaker confirmed that his ministers will attend Thursday's cabinet session, state-run National News Agency reported.

The two leaders "agreed that the cabinet must refrain from taking any important decision during the session," NNA said.

Berri's stances come in the wake of Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil's declaration on Tuesday that the FPM's two ministers will boycott Thursday's session as a “warning message” related to the thorny issue of military appointments.

Bassil also warned that the country could “face a system crisis after Thursday's session.”


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