Report: Bukhari voices surprise over al-Rahi's support for dialogue
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari has expressed to Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi the kingdom’s “surprise” over his support for Speaker Nabih Berri’s call for dialogue, a media report said on Tuesday.
“This has pushed diplomatic sources to say that the procrastination is expected to continue despite the Qatari attempts to inherit the French role in early October,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported.
Quoting informed sources, the daily said Bukhari “tried to explore the motives behind this new stance by the patriarch, who clarified that the country can no longer bear further vacuum and that it is a must to cling to any idea that might lead to a breakthrough in the crisis.”
“There is no harm in cornering those who floated the idea and unveiling their true intentions, instead of settling for rejection and keeping things as they are,” the sources quoted al-Rahi as telling Bukhari.
The ambassador for his part told al-Rahi that his country “does not see seriousness in the proposal but rather a maneuver aimed at breaking the stance of the opposition and fragmenting it” and that “it is necessary to further scrutinize dialogue’s circumstances and details,” the sources added.
Bukhari also noted that “the Taif Accord and its constitutional texts do not stipulate dialogue prior to going to the election session” and that “the kingdom cannot encourage norms that would become a prelude to amending the Taif Accord,” the sources said.
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