Report: Aoun delayed consultations to seek pre-agreement on PM

President Michel Aoun has given time to the parliamentary blocs to name a new PM because he wants "to form a government not to designate a PM without formation," Baabda sources reportedly said.

The sources denied that Aoun would meet the blocs before Thursday, while sources from the opposition forces told Asharq al-Awsat, in remarks published Friday, that Aoun has delayed the consultations to have the time to agree with the blocs on a name.

Meanwhile, al-Akhbar newspaper said that France is still maintaining its contacts with the Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah and that it does not mind the re-appointment of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

The daily added that France might hold a conference, next Autumn, to start a dialogue between the Lebanese, but French officials have denied it.

The binding parliamentary consultations are due on June 23 at the Presidential Palace in Baabda to appoint a prime minister-designate who will be tasked with forming a new government.

Lebanon had held its parliamentary elections in May 15. The polls yielded a polarized and fragmented legislature likely prone to the kind of deadlock that has characterized Lebanese politics for decades.

The new polarization raised fears of a complicated government formation.