Miqai: We Cannot Reactivate Role of Caretaker Government for Any Reason

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati rejected on Friday suggestions to convene cabinet to address pending issues, saying that such a proposal contradicts the Taef Accord.

He told the General Security magazine in an interview: “We cannot reactivate the role of the caretaker government for any reason.”

Such a suggestion also violates the constitution, he added.

Moreover, he blamed the political powers' insistence on their positions for the failure to form a new cabinet.

“All sides must realize the danger of the situation in Lebanon,” warned Miqati.

“We should all cooperate together instead of raising the bar of our demands,” he stressed.

“We must be realistic and all sides must abandon their conditions and counter-conditions,” continued the caretaker premier.

Furthermore, he urged the rival powers to halt their attempts to politically “isolate the other.”

Since his appointment in April 2013, Premier-designate Tammam Salam has been facing difficulties in forming a new government.

He has been confronted with conditions and counter-conditions set by the rival March 8 and March 14 alliances over the formation of a new cabinet.

Given the deadlock, some political powers have demanded that the caretaker cabinet convene in order to address pending issues.

Commenting on the Syrian conflict, Miqati said: “The Lebanese government adopted the policy of disassociation because it comforts us and keeps us at an equal distance from the disputed sides.”

This stance was enforced through the Baabda Declaration, he said.

“Resolving our problems lies in committing to this policy and the Declaration in full,” he stressed.

The meddling of Lebanese powers in the Syrian crisis will not alter developments in that country, remarked Miqati.

In addition, he stated that he “senses that the international community has taken the decision to protect Lebanon's stability.”

He also reiterated his appeal to the international community to help Lebanese authorities in catering to the needs of Syrian refugees who have flooded Lebanon to escape their country's conflict.