Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said the country’s next government is to be made in Lebanon adding that the protocol for forming Lebanon’s next cabinet is to be issued from Baabda palace. “Lebanon’s government is formed in Lebanon. The protocol for forming the next cabinet is to be issued from Baabda and any other talk is false,” Hariri said.
Following his meeting with President Michel Suleiman on Saturday at Baabda presidential palace, Hariri told reporters that he wants to have the best relations with Syria adding: “everything is good in its own time.”

On Saturday evening Hariri received at his residence in Qreitem Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and later Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Reza Shibani, who told reporters “my country has an established and basic stance in strengthening the Lebanese line and working on firmly establishing Lebanese national unity among all sects and political parties in this society.”

With the full support of US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, “the March 14” parties pressured Hariri to refuse a proposal to visit Damascus, threatening him that in case he decides to visit it before finalizing the cabinet formation process, they will boycott the cabinet.

The Lebanese Forces bloc seems to be the main “sponsor” of this trend within the March 14 bloc, alongside the so-called “March 14 Christians,” including the Phalange party…

Geagea reiterated his full opposition to any visit made by Hariri to Damascus at the current stage. Speaking to Reuters, he warned that such visit would be a move with no tangible results. Even more, Geagea said that such visit would not lead only to nowhere, “but it would also cause negative and dangerous repercussions.”

MP NICOLAS TO AL-MANAR: MARCH 14 CHRISTIANS WANT LARGEST CABINET SHARE TO WEAKEN AOUN
Meanwhile, Change and Reform bloc MP Nabil Nicolas said on a Sunday interview with Al-Manar TV Channel that the Christian parties of the March 14 alliance “want the largest share in the cabinet in order to weaken Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.”

He added, “Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s allies affirm that the cabinet is formed abroad, thus, any tensions between the countries working on the cabinet formation will negatively reflect on Lebanon.”

MP Nicolas said that Aoun “visited Syria to have normalized relations. We are not dependent on any dialogue.”

Nicolas also warned about Palestinian naturalization, saying “the world is only interested in Lebanon because it considers it as the appropriate country for Palestinian naturalization.”