Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced Tuesday that the new government “will not be formed” should the pro-Damascus camp “insist on restoring Lebanese-Syrian ties.”
“If others insist on restoring Lebanese-Syrian ties from the gateway of the reopened Nassib border crossing, then the government will not be formed,” Hariri said in a chat with reporters, referring to a key border crossing on the Syrian-Jordanian border that has been recently recaptured by Damascus.
“I do not agree to a restoration of Lebanese-Syrian ties and this is nonnegotiable,” Hariri added.
The PM-designate however stressed that “the obstacle is purely the result of Lebanese failure,” emphasizing that “the relation with Saudi Arabia is excellent” and that the kingdom is “urging us to speed up the formation process.”
“We still need some time to reach a final government format. It is true that there is no progress until the moment but there are no more tensions among the parties,” Hariri added.
Calling for the formation of a “national unity Cabinet in which all parties would cooperate,” the PM-designate said: “We've gotten rid of March 8 and March 14 and the cards have been reshuffled.”
“There will be no turning back,” he went on to say.
Confirming that the Free Patriotic Movement and President Michel Aoun have agreed to get a combined share of “ten seats,” Hariri revealed that the Lebanese Forces has “rejected a proposal to get four key ministerial portfolios as a compensation for not getting a sovereign portfolio.”