Suleiman Upset by Aoun’s Conditions, Says he Would Name his Ministers Only when Lineup is Ready

President Michel Suleiman has clearly announced his rejection of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun’s attempts to impose on him a candidate for the second Maronite minister that is part of his share in the new cabinet.

Baabda palace sources told al-Liwaa newspaper published Friday that “Suleiman rejects preconditions set by any side on his choice of his representatives in the government.”

The name of the sixth Maronite minister in the cabinet, which according to An Nahar might be Nazem al-Khoury, would be chosen by the president himself, the sources stressed.

The president is clear that he would only name his ministers once Premier-designate Najib Miqati presents to him the final 30-member cabinet lineup draft, al-Liwaa reported.

Agreement has already been reached with Aoun on allotting the interior ministry portfolio to retired Internal Security Forces Brig. Gen. Marwan Charbel. Suleiman’s share also includes a state minister.

Al-Liwaa said the aide of Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, and Hussein Khalil, who is Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s political advisor, asked Suleiman on Thursday to name his candidate for the second Maronite minister.

But the president refused, telling them he wasn’t “putting sticks in the wheels of the cabinet formation but at the same time he rejected being pressured or held responsible for the government deadlock.”

The two men visited Baabda palace in an attempt to bridge the differences between Suleiman and Aoun, who has insisted that the second Maronite minister should not be from Jbeil or Kesrouan for reasons linked to the parliamentary elections in 2013.

Suleiman told MP Khalil and the Hizbullah chief’s aide that he was facilitating Miqati’s mission but this move would not be at the expense of the constitution and institutions, al-Liwaa said.