Report: March 14 Hinges on French-Saudi Initiative to Seek Government Change

The March 14 opposition alliance is hinging on a French-Saudi initiative that would steer Lebanon clear of the Syrian war and lead to a change in the Lebanese government, al-Mustaqbal movement sources said Wednesday.

Such an initiative would keep Lebanon away of the “Syrian swamp” and could expand to include the United States and Russia, the sources told As Safir daily.

The initiative could also lead to the formation of a new government, they added.

March 14 has been calling on the formation of a neutral salvation government as the only way to defuse the tension caused by the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan in a car bomb blast in Beirut’s Ashrafiyeh district on October 19.

The remarks of the sources came a day after Baabda Palace circles said President Michel Suleiman is awaiting a sign from Paris on the results of French President Francois Hollande's talks with Saudi King Abdullah on Sunday.

Hollande held talks in Jeddah with Abdullah in the presence of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who is the head of al-Mustaqbal. Their meeting followed talks between Hollande and his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman in Beirut.

As Safir quoted a French diplomatic source as saying on Wednesday that Paris would not “abandon” Miqati.

The French administration studied available alternatives in case the Hizbullah-led cabinet collapsed and realized that neither the formation of a national cabinet nor a technocrat government were good choices.

“The government that ex-PM Saad Hariri is seeking to achieve through his campaign against Miqati is a caretaker cabinet,” they said.

The sources said Russia informed Paris following al-Hasan's assassination and the security instability that followed it that any government change would mean a declaration of war on Syria and Iran, who are the main backers of Hizbullah.