Suleiman: Everyone Must Put Their Confidence in President, PM-designate to Form Cabinet without Stalling over Shares

President Michel Suleiman on Friday called on the rival political parties to put their confidence in him and in Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam in order to form an “inclusive cabinet,” urging the Lebanese to abide by the Baabda Declaration and to “withdraw from Syria.”

“We cannot say that certain parties have rejected dialogue, since until now no one has rejected it, but each party is announcing a different approach and we can reconcile these approaches, especially that several resolutions were reached in the past, such as the Baabda Declaration,” Suleiman said in an interview with Tele Liban, which was recorded in New York.

“When the dialogue committee convenes, we can engage in dialogue over any issue related to the implementation of the Baabda Declaration or the details of its stipulations, as well as over any issue related to the national defense strategy, which is the only topic that is still on the agenda of national dialogue,” he added.

The president said “withdrawal from Syria must be the result of implementing the Baabda Declaration,” urging “those implicated in Syria to put Lebanon's interest before any other interest.”

“Lebanon's interest lies in neutralizing it and keeping it away from interference in Syria and I call on everyone to abide by this and by the Baabda Declaration and to withdraw from Syria,” Suleiman added.

Turning to the issue of the cabinet formation process, the president said “the formation of cabinets is based on constitutional norms and we cannot speak of a Policy Statement before forming the cabinet.”

Salam “was named PM-designate following (binding) consultations” with the parliamentary blocs and the new government must be formed “as soon as possible,” Suleiman said, noting that “afterwards, the ministerial Policy Statement would be discussed and sent to parliament, where it might or might not win a vote of confidence.”

“We must follow the constitutional norms and the constitutional sequence in addressing these issues, as jumping over the sequence of the constitutional mechanism would impede the discussions,” Suleiman went on to say.

“Yes, the parties are demanding certain shares, since we live in a democratic, constitutional system, which is an asset for Lebanon if it is properly implemented, and a curse for the constitutional and administrative process if we barricaded behind this system to raise the ceiling of our demands,” the president noted.

“Everyone must respond and place their confidence in the president and the PM-designate in order to form an inclusive cabinet, as I have repeated several times, without stalling over shares, as the cabinet must be formed by the PM-designate and the president following the consultations” with the parliamentary blocs, Suleiman went on to say.

Asked whether his upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia had anything to do with the cabinet formation process, given that it comes on the eve of the Iranian president's visit to the kingdom, Suleiman said: “Of course this (Saudi-Iranian) rapprochement would reflect positively on the situation in Lebanon and the entire Middle East, but the president's role is bigger than discussing the formation of the cabinet with any state, regardless of its good relations with Lebanon.”

Asked whether Lebanon will take part in a possible Syria peace conference in Geneva after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Syria's neighbors would be invited to the meeting, Suleiman said: "He mentioned that and we don't mind to take part, but we would study the form of our participation in due time."

On Monday, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah described the so-called 8-8-8 formula as "unrealistic," saying "it is technically a 10-6-8 formula since the premier-designate is a member of the March 14 forces and the minister he is supposed to name would abide by the same political agenda."