Cabinet session delayed to solve crisis in Lebanon

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Monday 08 Jun 2015 - 11:51 Makkah mean time-21-8-1436 (File image) Beirut, (IINA) - Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam will not call for a Cabinet session so as to give mediators time to resolve a crisis over the thorny issue of security appointments, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said on Sunday, The Lebanese Daily Star reported. “Salam will not call for a Cabinet session this week in order to leave the door open for political solutions,” Machnouk said in an interview with Al-Jadeed TV. “Salam has opened door for political solutions to the Cabinet crisis within one or two weeks at the utmost. If this does not work, Salam will call for a Cabinet session.” He also said the issue of appointing a new Army chief would not be discussed before September when Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi’s term expires. In addition to Salam’s contacts with all the key political parties, Machnouk said, Speaker Nabih Berri and MP Walid Jumblatt, who met on Sunday, would also be making their own efforts to resolve the latest Cabinet crisis over the appointment of senior military and security officers. After the Cabinet was unable to agree on a new head of the Internal Security Forces, Machnouk signed a decree, effectively extending by two years the mandate of ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous, who was to retire in June. Meanwhile, Salam said during a meeting with a number of reporters Sunday that it was not the first time his Cabinet had faced such a situation that threatened to paralyze the government’s work. “We hope that all political parties will realize the gravity of the situation and will not persist in their attempts to paralyze the executive branch of power,” he said. SM/IINA