Aoun upbeat; Russia backs Hariri’s bid to end crisis
Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star/October/05/2016 |
BEIRUT: MP Michel Aoun sounded upbeat Tuesday that the presidential vacuum might be nearing its end, signaling that his “positive” meeting with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri over the issue might eventually lead the Future Movement to support his bid for the country’s top Christian post.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed his support for Hariri’s efforts to end the presidential deadlock, now in its third year. He also voiced solidarity with Lebanon over the country’s longstanding political and security crises tied to the Syrian conflict.
“Unfortunately Lebanon is witnessing a political crisis in this critical timing and there are some efforts to overcome it. I want to express our support for the efforts you are exerting, [former] premier Saad Hariri, to overcome this political crisis,” Lavrov said during a meeting with Hariri at his office in Moscow, said a statement issued by Hariri’s media office. Hariri, speaking to Lavrov, blamed Hezbollah for the crisis.
Hariri visited Moscow as part of a foreign trip aimed at facilitating the election of a president. He had visited Saudi Arabia Monday before flying to Moscow, Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat told the Voice of the People radio station.
Hariri’s consultations included the two main rival presidential candidates: Aoun, who is backed by Hezbollah and some of its March 8 allies and the Lebanese Forces, and Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Frangieh, who has won the support of Hariri, Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Walid Jumblatt and some independent lawmakers.
Aoun, founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, disclosed that his meeting with Hariri last week was “positive,” hinting that its outcome could prompt the Future Movement to drop its support for Frangieh in his favor.
“The meeting was very positive. We reached understanding on all topics. He [Hariri] had some things to sort out. Inshallah, the outcome will be positive,” Aoun said in an interview with the FPM-affiliated OTV station Tuesday night.
He suggested that an agreement could be reached between rival political factions over the presidency before the Oct. 31 parliamentary session to elect a new head of state.
Aoun recalled that he and Hariri have been trying to reach a political agreement since 2005, holding meetings in Lebanon, France and Italy, but did not reach any tangible results.
Referring to last week’s meeting with Hariri, Aoun said: “But today the situation is very positive [over the presidential election]. We talked about issues of the hour. There was no contradiction over the implementation of the Taif Accord.”
Aoun, who had opposed the Taif Accord when it was signed by Lebanese MPs in the Saudi city of Taif in 1989, said there were pledges in the pact that have not been implemented.
He appeared to refute claims of a Saudi veto on his candidacy for the presidency, mainly because of his rejection of the Taif Accord and his strategic alliance with Hezbollah.“Certainly, the Saudi kingdom has left the [presidential] issue to the Lebanese to decide their options. It is no longer putting a choice for a president and does not want to go into names [of candidates]” Aoun said.
Aoun has for long been counting on Hariri’s support to boost his chances for being elected president. He said that despite their differences throughout the years, communication was ongoing between him and Hariri.
Aoun also attempted to reach out to the Lebanese Sunni community, which has generally opposed his candidacy, while acknowledging that Hariri was the country’s undisputed Sunni leader.
“Hariri has the largest representation within the Sunni community. It is only natural to have him as the country’s prime minister,” he said.
Aoun warned against waiting for regional developments and the outcome of U.S. elections to elect a president. “Waiting for [the outcome of] regional and international developments will expose Lebanon to danger,” he said.
Aoun added that he was confident of Hezbollah’s constant support for him for the presidency, rejecting claims by some March 14 politicians that the party did not want him to become president.
On his strained ties with Berri, Aoun said: “The relationship with Speaker Berri should be good. There is no dispute between us in politics.”
Aoun fell short of supporting Berri’s package deal to end the presidential deadlock, but stressed that reaching understandings should be part of political practice. “Understandings should be part of political activity. But understandings must respect the Constitution. There should be no conditions on the election of a president,” he said. He added that the election of a president should not be linked to acceptance of the package deal.
Aoun said the latest row between Berri and Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai over the former’s proposal would not obstruct the election of a president.
In his Sunday sermon in Bkirki, Rai had questioned the wisdom and legality of any package deal over the presidency. He said such a deal would “strip the president of his prerogatives, and whoever accepts it lacks dignity.”
Berri’s controversial proposed package calls for the election of a president, an agreement on a new voting system and the shape of the new government.
However, Berri Tuesday stood firm on the package proposal, while ruling out the election of a president in the near future.
“They say that the package [proposal] is finished. For me, this package still exists,” Berri was quoted as saying by visitors at his Ain al-Tineh residence.
He said the package suggestion does not include any provision relating to the president’s prerogatives. “They called it a package, but the truth of the matter is that it includes the remaining topics of the dialogue agenda: The election of a president and the prime minister and an electoral law. Accomplishing all these matters is within Parliament’s prerogatives,” Berri said.
He added that he felt from his meeting with Hariri that the head of the Future Movement did not abandon his support for Frangieh’s candidacy.
“I heard from him [Hariri] that he is still firm on his [Frangieh’s] candidacy,” Berri said. He added that he was ready to meet Aoun at his residence, while stressing that “a prior understanding on everything is the road to reach a solution” for the presidential crisis.
Meanwhile, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag ended a two-day visit to Tehran where she had talks with senior Iranian officials on the Lebanese presidential crisis and regional developments.
Kaag met with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Jaberi Ansari and Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi, as well as members of the international community, according to a statement released by Kaag’s media office.
“The talks also centered on follow-up to the Security Council’s Presidential Statement of 22 July, in particular its call on all parties to engage in negotiating a compromise agreement with the aim of ending the political and institutional crisis in Lebanon, and the criticality of the election of a president, the formation of a unity government and the election of a Parliament by May 2017,” the statement said.
Separately, Prime Minister Tammam Salam called for a Cabinet session to be held at 10 a.m. Thursday to resume discussion of a previously distributed agenda. If it is held, the session will be the first since the Sept. 8 meeting, which was boycotted by the FPM’s ministers and their allies in Hezbollah, the Marada Movement and the Tashnag Party.
