Aoun Says 'Not Concerned' with Mustaqbal-Hizbullah Dialogue
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun has reportedly stressed that he is not concerned with the dialogue that is set to take place between al-Mustaqbal movement and Hizbullah.
Al-Akhbar newspaper quoted Aoun as saying that the talks, which are expected to be held between the rival parties this month, “do not concern him as long as he is not invited.”
Aoun, who heads the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, reportedly said that the dialogue is only aimed at limiting Sunni-Shiite tension.
The daily also quoted Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as telling Aoun that the presidential deadlock does not top the agenda of the talks.
The FPM chief is confident that Nasrallah would not end his support for Aoun as the March 8 alliance's candidate for the presidency.
Hizbullah and Change and Reform lawmakers, in addition to other blocs in the March 8 alliance, have boycotted the parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president, causing a lack of quorum and a vacuum at Baabda Palace.
Their boycott is the result of differences with the March 14 camp, which is led by al-Mustaqbal, over a compromise candidate.
According to al-Akhbar, Aoun has proposed to first agreeing on a new electoral law and holding parliamentary elections.
The parliament would then elect a new president, the newspaper quoted him as saying.
The legislature extended its term last month by another two years and seven months, skipping scheduled elections for the second consecutive time.
Aoun's bloc appealed the extension but the Constitutional Council rejected the challenge last week.
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