Berri denies suspending his dialogue initiative
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has denied reports claiming that he had suspended his presidential dialogue initiative.
“I have not suspended my initiative. To the contrary, it is ongoing, continuous and in harmony with the French initiative. The two initiatives complement each other and their essence is the same: dialogue and consensus for the election of a president,” Berri said in an interview with al-Liwaa newspaper published Monday.
“I’m waiting for the visit of French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian and I expect that my initiative will be merged with Le Drian’s initiative to reach the aspired positive result through dialogue and consensus,” the Speaker added.
Berri had on August 31 called on the Lebanese parties to engage in seven days of dialogue in parliament prior to going to open-ended electoral sessions to choose a new president. His initiative was rejected by most of the opposition MPs and was eventually criticized by Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil.