Lebanon premiership battle hots up
Christian leader Geagea calls for Hariri's reappointment as Egypt and France press for stability
Dubai: The Lebanese premiership battle is hotting up with Christian leader Samir Geagea yesterday calling for caretaker prime minister Sa'ad Hariri to be re-appointed, a day after Druze leader Walid Junblatt announced his backing for Hezbollah.
"We are in a tense conflict over every parliamentary vote," Geagea said. "We will do everything possible to bring back Hariri as premier."
Geagea, however, warned that if Hezbollah and its allies nominated pro-Syrian former premier Omar Karami then "the cabinet will be formed by Rustom Ghazaleh [a Syrian security official] and Wafiq Safa [Hezbollah security official]."
In Cairo, the foreign ministers of Egypt and France called for stability in Lebanon. "We spoke of the necessity to respect legality [in Lebanon] and to fully apply the Taif Accord," Egypt's minister Ahmad Abu Al Geit told reporters, referring to a 1989 agreement that ended Lebanon's devastating civil war.
French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said France and Egypt "have the same will to see the Lebanese constitutional authorities lead the reconstruction and stability of the country."
