Arab League (AL) Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki said Thursday that the AL is ready to intervene to help in resolving the Lebanese cabinet formation crisis.
This came after he held talks with top Lebanese leaders over the governmental deadlock.
The official held talks with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri.
Speaking to reporters after talks with Hariri, Zaki said he told the premier-designate that the AL was willing to help to “defuse the crisis and bring Lebanon out of this predicament facing it because of the stalled Cabinet formation.”
“I told the prime minister that the Arab League is ready to play any role required from it, either through shuttle diplomacy among the main Lebanese parties, or in the form of ensuring an Arab League ceiling for a meeting of the Lebanese political parties,” Zaki said.
Zaki also highlighted the necessity to put national interest above any other narrow considerations, hoping that this crisis would be over soon for the sake of the Lebanese people and the Lebanese state.
For his part, Aoun assured Zaki that Lebanon was committed to the implementation of the 1989 Taif Accord. He rejected accusations that he was seeking to undermine the accord.
“Any words that suggest that the Taif Accord is in jeopardy are not based on facts and are being propagated by known parties concerned with the Cabinet formation,” Aoun told Zaki.
Also, Zaki said Aoun welcomed the proposal for the AL to host an inter-Lebanese meeting to resolve the Cabinet crisis.
Regarding the obstacles delaying the government’s formation and the indications he sensed in Baabda, Zaki said: “We are not carrying an initiative and we are not pressing the parties, but we are annoyed and concerned over the political and economic situation in Lebanon.”
He added: “The currently raised ideas, especially those proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri, are ideas that can be capitalized on and can represent a good exit from the current crisis.”
