Baassiri Says Ready to Serve Lebanon but 'No Govt. Now'

Former central bank vice governor Mohammed Baassiri announced Sunday that he is “not aware” that his name has been proposed for the PM post but noted that he would accept to be “in any position that would serve Lebanon.”

“I’m not nominated for any governmental position and I’m not seeking to become premier,” Baassiri added in an interview with al-Jadeed TV.

“In my personal opinion, there won’t be a government now and there are conditions for the success of the government. Success lies in its components and what’s important is the presence of an agreement among the Lebanese on exiting the deep crisis that we are going through,” Baassiri went on to say.

Ex-MP Paula Yacoubian had tweeted overnight that “soon MPs will head to Baabda to apparently name Mohammed Baassiri as the head of a new-old government.”

MTV meanwhile quoted an informed source as saying that “these leaks are baseless.”

The Nidaa al-Watan newspaper had reported Saturday that Baassiri “remains a serious candidate for the premiership,” quoting sources who are “monitoring” the situations.

The reports emerged after Baassiri met Friday with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

“He is one of the figures who enjoy Western and specifically American support, and accordingly it is possible that his meeting with Berri was aimed at exploring the prospects for an agreement over the government,” the sources told Nidaa al-Watan.

The sources also suggested that Berri and Hizbullah had sought to appease Washington through the framework agreement on the demarcation of borders with Israel and that they might try to offer more concessions through accepting Baassiri’s nomination.