Berri says Quintet supports president consensus through 'consultations'

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has heard from the Quintet's ambassadors that there is no veto on any presidential candidate.

Berri told al-Jadeed TV on Sunday that all the ambassadors including the Saudi ambassador have told him that the Quintet has no candidates and no veto on any name but would rather help the Lebanese choose their own president.

The Speaker had met last week with the ambassadors of the member states of the five-nation group for Lebanon, which comprises the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. He said after the meeting that the stance was unified and the meeting was promising.

"We agreed that electing a president requires consensus," Berri said, adding that the ambassadors have suggested to call the pre-vote talks "consultations" instead of "dialogue." "Without consultations, we would fail to elect a president even if we hold fifty consecutive sessions," Berri explained, as neither of the two main parliamentary blocs -- Hezbollah and its opponents -- have the majority required to elect one.

"I cannot prevent any party from boycotting the sessions because it is a constitutional right," Berri said, adding that what is needed is a quorum of 86.

"I am not asking for unanimity," he said.

Opposition MPs have criticized Berri's call for dialogue, urging Berri to call instead for consecutive sessions to elect a president, as the opposition considers that a president should be elected through a vote in parliament and not through dialogue.

Berri stressed that the Quintet's ambassadors are unified and willing to help the Lebanese end their presidential crisis.

He added that he doesn't mind that deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab head the talks.