Riachi Says Delay in Talks between Geagea, Aoun 'Normal'

Lebanese Forces official Melhem Riachi stressed on Friday that it's normal for talks with the Free Patriotic Movement, which aim at preparing for a wider meeting between FPM chief MP Michel Aoun and LF leader Samir Geagea, to take a long time.

“A page from the past will be folded and we will not go back there,” Riachi said in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper.

He urged people not to become frustrated as “results are based on the efforts exerted to mend the ties and are not linked to the recent speculations.”

The talks between the officials of the two parties are expected to culminate in a meeting between FPM chief and LF leader.

Both of them are presidential candidates. Their rivalry and other factors have left Baabda Palace vacant sine President Michel Suleiman's term ended in May last year.

Asked if Aoun set a condition to reach the Baabda Palace in order to meet with Geagea, Riachi denied the matter, saying: “This is false and inaccurate.”

“Neither Aoun nor Geagea set any conditions,” he remarked.

Riachi continued: “The dialogue (between the FPM and LF) is not to cover up for the presidential vacuum, on the contrary, it aims at rectifying the relationship.”

Under the National Pact of 1943, the president should be a Maronite Christian, the speaker a Muslim Shiite and the prime minister a Muslim Sunni.

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