Still at square one: Berri says there are no 'presidential initiatives'

Almost two years after Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, Lebanese MPs still haven't managed to agree on a president or even on a dialogue to elect one.

Opposition MPs have started a presidential initiative, calling for consultations or an open election session, as they refuse a dialogue chaired by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Berri's camp believe that a dialogue in parliament must be chaired by its Speaker, Berri.

As both parties - the so-called Axis of Defiance and its opponents - exchange accusations, Lebanon remains without a president, plunged into an economic crisis, with tensions on its southern border as Hezbollah fights Israel in support of Gaza.

"We haven't made any progress, we are still at square one," Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday.

"There are no initiatives," he said, apparently dismissing the opposition's initiative that suggested unofficial consultations in parliament that would not be chaired by Berri.

"The ball is in the court of those who are rejecting consensus, not in mine," Berri told the daily.