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Hezbollah won't join new government in Lebanon without Speaker Berri: official

Xinhua, November 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced Friday that his party would not join the new government in Lebanon should Speaker Nabih Berri refrain from taking part in it.

"We won't join the next government if Speaker Berri and the AMAL Movement do not take part in it, and Speaker Berri is authorized to negotiate on behalf of the AMAL movement and Hezbollah," said Nasrallah in a televised speech.

Nasrallah stressed "Speaker Berri is a major guarantee and everyone who disagreed with him over the presidency must realize this."

"One must thoroughly recognize the major positive role that Speaker Berri played and his delicate administration of this juncture... He could have stripped the (presidential election) session of its quorum but he didn't," he said.

The Hezbollah chief called for the formation of a national unity government and the cooperation of all forces, pointing that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri "has said that he will exert efforts in this direction."

"After having facilitated the designation of a new premier, we are also keen on facilitating the formation of the new cabinet, but positivity, cooperation and non-exclusion are needed," Nasrallah underlined.

Lebanon saw Monday the election of former Army Commander General Michel Aoun as president ending more than two and half years of vacuum following the end of the six-year tenure of former President Michel Suleiman in May 2014.

On Thursday, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was asked to form the new cabinet.

He started his parliamentary deliberations on Friday in order to name his ministers. Endit