Mikati supports Berri's dialogue as cabinet convenes in 2 consecutive sessions

The caretaker cabinet convened Thursday morning at the Grand Serail to discuss, in two consecutive extraordinary sessions, "urgent" articles including the refugee crisis and the state budget.

"We are carrying out our responsibilities and we're not confiscating power," caretaker Prime Minister Bajib Mikati said at the beginning of the session.

The remarks are apparently a response to the Free Patriotic Movement's accusations that cabinet meetings are "unconstitutional".

The FPM has long accused Mikati of violating the national pact and the constitution by holding cabinet sessions and issuing "non-urgent" decrees, amid a presidential void. Its ministers boycotted Thursday's sessions and have boycotted all the previous ones since the term of former president Michel Aoun ended last October, accusing Mikati of usurping the president’s powers.

"We do not want to replace anyone," Mikati said, as he called for a swift election of a president, and called on parliamentary blocs to engage in dialogue.