Berri: Positive Attitude as Saudi-Syrian Initiative Recovers, Problem Lies in Taef
Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that January will be decisive in solving the Lebanese crisis and said Premier Saad Hariri had a positive attitude on the Saudi-Syrian initiative.
Berri discussed with Hariri during a telephone conversation on Thursday efforts by Damascus and Riyadh to resolve the deadlock.
"The atmosphere is good and there is no alternative to the Saudi-Syrian initiative," Berri told Hizbullah's al-Manar TV on Thursday night.
"The initiative is active and has returned" to the Lebanese scene, he said after his phone talk with Hariri. He reiterated that the Arab efforts to solve the crisis had reached a standstill with Saudi King Abdullah's illness but said "the initiative recovered and the level of optimism began rising."
In an interview with al-Afkar magazine that will be published Saturday, Berri said "the problem in Lebanon does not only lie in the international tribunal. There is a bigger problem which is the Taef Accord."
"The Taef Agreement is the best for now and has no alternative but we have to agree on how to implement it entirely," the speaker said. "This is part of the Syrian-Saudi initiative."
A media report said Thursday that Berri will consider turning the tables if a solution to the crisis over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was not reached before the end of January.
Berri sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that the Speaker was seeking to fill in on lost time through revitalization of weekly parliamentary sessions.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/1958 |