Berri: Fears of Strife Prevented Parliament from Resorting to Confidence Vote
Speaker Nabih Berri said Sunday that hadn’t there been fears of sectarian strife in Lebanon, the parliament would have resorted to a vote of confidence against Premier Najib Miqati’s government.
In an interview with the Saudi Okaz newspaper, Berri said: “We will continue through the parliament to pressure the government to force it into speeding up” the procedures that would lead to oil exploration in Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
“I say it honestly that hadn’t there been a fear of internal strife in Lebanon, the parliament would have taken a totally different and very harsh stance against the government on that issue,” he said.
When asked what he meant by a harsh stance, Berri said: “The parliament can resort to a vote of confidence against the cabinet.”
Lebanon has been slow to exploit its maritime resources compared with other eastern Mediterranean countries. Israel, Cyprus and Turkey are all much more advanced in drilling for oil and gas.
Asked how Lebanon is capable of keeping itself at distance from the Syrian crisis given that it has a huge border with it, Berri said: “Neither the Lebanese people nor Lebanon can do anything about the situation in Syria and nor can they influence it.”
“Any sectarian strife in Syria would move to Lebanon because it’s Lebanon’s only Arab neighbor,” he warned.
Berri said the Lebanese are living in a “siege” and the country’s economy is suffering over the situation in Syria.
“That’s why I reiterate that we are with a democratic state and reforms in Syria,” he told his interviewer, saying however “we don’t want that to happen through foreign intervention.”
“We want the Syrian people to sit at the dialogue table,” the speaker added.
Russia on Saturday pushed the idea of an international conference on the more than 15-month-old crisis in Syria, with its ally Iran also given a place at the table despite U.S. opposition.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said permanent Security Council members Russia, the United States, France, Britain and China, Syria's neighbors including Lebanon and Jordan, as well as the European Union and Arab League should take part in the conference.
His proposal came as worldwide anger grows over the crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime on a revolt in which more than 13,500 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since March 2011.
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