Salam Says EU Decision on Hizbullah Has No Effect on Cabinet Formation Efforts

Premier-designate Tammam Salam has informed the head of the EU delegation to Lebanon that the latest decision to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing will neither affect his ties with the party nor his efforts to put together a cabinet.

Al-Liwaa newspaper on Friday quoted officials, who visited the PM-designate, as saying that Salam stressed that his relations with Hizbullah will remain intact.

He also remained adamant to go ahead with his cabinet formation efforts, telling EU Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst that the decision would not have an impact on the line-up.

Despite his remarks, sources following up Salam's efforts to form a government told An Nahar daily that the repercussions of the latest EU decision compels the PM-designate to form a neutral cabinet amid a clash between the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance and the March 14 coalition.

The new measures against Hizbullah's military wing require Salam to form a government of non-political figures and based on 8 ministers to each camp - March 8, March 14 and centrists, they said.

The 24-member government that Salam has been suggesting should also be based on the rotation of portfolios as he has called for, the sources added.

They stressed that only such a formula would be able to end the cabinet formation crisis.

Officials close to Salam confirmed that the Prime Minister-designate will not back off from his convictions on this formula and that he is waiting for President Michel Suleiman's return from a private visit to the U.S. to form his cabinet.

On Monday, the European Union decided to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing as a terror group and said the decision will not affect ties with Lebanon.