Policy Statement Delayed Anew as Abou Faour Suggests Formula Containing Baabda Declaration

The panel drafting the ministerial policy statement finished its fifth meeting on Tuesday evening without managing to reach an agreement on the clause related to resistance against Israel.

"Discussions will be resumed tomorrow, Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.," the members of the committee said in a concise communique.

In a session that lasted around three hours, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour proposed a formula that “includes the Baabda Declaration and the consensual issues,” but Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil said “it needs discussion and it is not complete.”

“We need a consensual, balanced statement that resembles the government,” Khalil added.

State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammed Fneish declined to give any statement before the meeting. “I will not speak outside the committee's meetings,” he told reporters.

Quoting sources close to Prime Minister Tammam Salam, al-Manar TV said “no efforts were made to resolve the obstacles before the meeting of the panel and things were left for discussions inside the session."

Meanwhile, sources close to President Michel Suleiman told al-Manar that "the president does not accept to be the one who is obstructing the finalization of the policy statement."

According to al-Jadeed television, Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi, the Phalange Party's representative in the panel, left the meeting "due to a personal appointment."

Earlier on Tuesday, Suleiman hoped the policy statement will be finalized and the government will win parliament's vote of confidence before the meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon in Paris.