Miqati Stresses on Stability, Hopes for ‘Positive Outcome’ in STL Funding

Premier Najib Miqati stressed on Sunday that his cabinet’s main objective is to guarantee stability in Lebanon and expressed hope that consultations between Lebanese officials on the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would lead to a “positive outcome.”

“One of the major objectives of this government is to achieve stability because it is the key to all proposed projects for reform, investment and economic growth,” Miqati told Tele Liban.

In remarks to An Nahar newspaper, Miqati said: “We shouldn’t anticipate things. We have enough time to continue with the contacts that we started which we hope would lead to a positive outcome and the anticipated solution.”

His comment comes amid a struggle between Miqati, President Michel Suleiman and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, who have backed the funding of the STL, and Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement who have rejected to pay more than $33 million of Lebanon’s share.

When asked by An Nahar to unveil what stage the consultations on the STL funding have reached, Miqati said it would be useless to discuss about the efforts to clinch a deal to fund the STL before any official agreement between the cabinet’s major representatives.

He stressed that not a single official who has rejected to fund the court, mainly Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, “has shut the door to any solution.”

“The door remains open,” Miqati told the daily.

The STL has charged four Hizbullah operatives in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's Feb. 2005 assassination.

The prime minister refused to comment on “a lot of talk” about his meeting with former Premier Saad Hariri in Riyadh earlier this week during the funeral of Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.

He only said that they met during the condolences and “it is natural to exchange handshakes.”

The relations between the two men deteriorated when Miqati accepted the nomination of Hizbullah and the March 8 forces earlier this year after they toppled Hariri’s cabinet.

Meanwhile, Miqati’s sources refused to comment on FPM chief Michel Aoun’s criticism, reiterating that the prime minister doesn’t want to argue with any official.

“Let the public opinion judge his performance,” the sources said.

Aoun told Hizbullah’s al-Manar TV on Friday that Miqati was targeting him.

“I’m not targeting Miqati, he’s the one targeting me. I’m telling him about the wrongdoings and he’s not addressing them. How does he want to gain popularity? By protecting violations?,” Aoun asked.