Berri Says Deadlock over Cabinet Formation Ongoing

Speaker Nabih Berri said that his efforts regarding the government formation are at a standstill, denying reports saying that he agreed with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat to halt consultations over the matter.

“I haven't contacted Jumblat regarding the matter. According to my information everything is still the same,” Berri said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam is seeking the formation of a 24-member cabinet in which the March 8, March 14 and centrists camps would each get eight ministers.

He is also rejecting granting veto power to any power, which the March 8 camp has been demanding.

The March 14 coalition is meanwhile calling for keeping Hizbullah out of the cabinet over its role in Syria's war.

On last week's blast that rocked Beirut's southern suburbs neighborhood of Ruwais, Berri expressed fear that it “was more than a message.”

“All security agencies and political parties are demanded to open their eyes in order to confront the terrorist plot (against the country) as it will impact everyone,” Berri, who returned on Monday from a holiday in Italy, told the daily.

The Ruwais blast claimed the lives of 27 people and wounded more than 336 other.

The casualty toll is the highest in Lebanon since a massive car bomb attack on the Beirut seafront killed former prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in February 2005.

Hizbullah is a key supporter of President Bashar Assad and has sent fighters across the border to Syria this year to bolster government forces, which have been battling a deadly anti-regime revolt since March 2011.

A defiant Nasrallah said on Friday he himself was ready to go and fight in Syria against radical Islamists, whom he accused of being responsible for the car bombing.

On Saturday, the Syrian opposition National Coalition warned against a "cycle of violence" in Lebanon if Hizbullah continues to send fighters to help the Damascus regime.

An online video surfaced shortly after the attack showing three masked men, two of them holding rifles, in front of a white flag inscribed with the Islamic profession of faith, claiming the attack.

Berri also commented on Tuesday's parliamentary session, saying: “I will be at the parliament, if the quorum was achieved then it will be held if not then I will postpone it.”

The session was postponed for a third time on July 29 over a lack of quorum.

Several parliamentary blocks boycotted the parliamentary session over a dispute with the speaker over its agenda, which included 45 articles.