Aoun Says Political Crisis Can't be Solved with Arms

Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun said Tuesday that there is a need for dialogue to resolve the country's political problems, adding the government would not collapse under pressure.

Following talks with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace as part of consultations the head of state is holding with the country's major political parties, Aoun said: “There is a need for dialogue. Or else how would we solve the problem? by resorting to the streets with arms?”

The government will not collapse under pressure, he told a reporter when asked about the March 14 opposition's calls for the cabinet of Prime Minister Najib Miqati to resign following the Oct. 19 assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan.

“The government is being productive,” he stressed, citing the achievements made by the ministers, including the appointment of civil servants and mainly the members of the Oil Authority.

The FPM chief also shrugged off warnings that the country's political and security situation has deteriorated drastically.

“The situation is not as bad as it is being portrayed,” Aoun said. “It is stable despite some incidents” that are caused by foreign factors.

Suleiman has been holding consultations with the country's top political leaders since the March 14 alliance announced that it would not attend national dialogue sessions as long as Miqati's government is still in power.

Several March 14 officials also announced they would not sit at the same table with Hizbullah after they accused the Syrian regime -its main backer- of being involved in Hasan's killing in a car bomb blast in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.