Berri Meets Connelly, Says Won't Back Down on Decision to Hold Legislative Session

Speaker Nabih Berri reportedly said on Wednesday that if next week’s legislative session faced lack of quorum, he will not back off and will insist on holding it.

“He will call for a second, third and fourth session until it is held,” lawmakers quoted Berri as saying during his weekly meeting with them at parliament.

Berri “stressed on holding a parliamentary session on June 8,” they said.

The speaker stressed the importance of solving crucial issues that are essential to citizens.

Concerning the telecommunications issue, the MPs quoted Berri as saying that he was waiting for the technical report that will be issued by the competent committee that will be formed by caretaker Telecom Minister Charbel Nahhas.

Earlier Wednesday, As Safir remarked that Berri will discuss the agenda of the parliamentary session during a meeting of parliament’s bureau committee.

When asked about the upcoming step if the March 14 members in the committee refused to discuss the agenda, he said: “Everything is good in its right time.”

Berri remarked that hints by some March 14 parties that he was seeking to put the issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the session’s agenda are aimed at “obstructing” the parliament’s meeting.

An Nahar quoted him as saying that “the agenda must be specific and well-organized. It’s not a deal.”

The speaker told As Safir he is working on two parallel tracks -- one is aimed at speeding up the cabinet formation and the second seeks to activate the parliament’s role.

Later Wednesday, Berri held talks with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly on “the ongoing political developments in Lebanon, including the need for Lebanese government institutions to work with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and other international organizations to fulfill Lebanon's obligations under international law to provide protection to Syrian citizens fleeing the violence in Syria,” the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

“Ambassador Connelly also reiterated the U.S.’s view that the international community will assess its relationship with any new government of Lebanon based on the make-up of the next cabinet, its ministerial statement and the actions it takes in regard to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Lebanon’s other international obligations,” according to the embassy’s statement.

“The ambassador reconfirmed that the United States considers the make-up of Lebanon’s government to be strictly a Lebanese decision and called on all parties in Lebanon to protect the government formation process from any external interference.”