Berri stakes the election of the president on reforms: “We are going to Naqoura…not everything is caused by an American.”

Walid Choucair wrote in “Nidaa Al-Watan”:

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri appeared almost certain that the Naqoura negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, mediated by the United States and under the auspices of the United Nations, regarding the demarcation of the maritime borders with Israel, will be resumed after the visit that begins today, the American mediator, the senior US State Department energy adviser, Imus Hochstein, because this is what is stipulated in the framework agreement that It was announced on October 1, 2020.

When he was asked about the reason for not discussing the land borders, even though the framework agreement stipulated that the two things go hand in hand, he replied: “We are going to Naqoura, and when the maritime demarcation takes place, the land demarcation will be facilitated….”

However, Berri, who believes that the formation of the government requires a “miracle,” left the doors open to all possibilities regarding the presidential election, despite his hint of his inclination to the head of the “Marada” movement, Suleiman Franjieh, given the latter’s statement after his meeting with him last Tuesday that it was “in the interest of Lebanon.” When he corrected and welcomed anyone who chooses the interest of Lebanon, he was told that all the candidates say that they are working for the interest of Lebanon, he replied: “If everyone says that he is working for the interest of Lebanon, it is not necessary for his practice to be like that.”

In his meeting with journalists on Saturday afternoon, Berri seemed to be on the verge of achieving the achievement he sought during the past years of negotiations under the spotlight sometimes, and often far from it, leading to the framework agreement on the basis of which the indirect Naqoura negotiations were held on October 14, 2020. About that Berri is the “spiritual father” of the framework agreement, it seemed that by announcing this he would regain the initiative in the demarcation file, after the team of President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and then Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, with threats he made to target the Karish field. And beyond Karish” by drones.

Despite Berri’s declaration that “when we went through the framework agreement, we did not enter into the issue of the lines or about our area of ​​one hundred or one thousand kilometers,” during his meeting with journalists on Saturday, the data indicated that when he announced the framework agreement in 2020, it was the culmination of contacts that were kept secret and adopted. Maritime Line 23 is the basis for Lebanon’s rights. The secret contacts he was making with the American side led to it obtaining a large part of the 860 square kilometers disputed between Lebanon and Israel, which is located between the “Hof” line, which Lebanon rejected, and the 23rd line. It was hoped that the rest of it would be obtained through negotiations. Naqoura, had the Lebanese negotiating delegation not proposed to adopt Line 29, which would have led to its freezing after 4 rounds, because the Israeli side and the American mediator rejected this line and considered it to undermine the negotiations.

This leads to the question whether the resumption of the negotiation sessions in Naqoura is supposed to be the culmination of Lebanon’s demand to obtain the +23 line (that is, that this line zigzags in a semi-circular form at the small part of the Qana field that crosses this line, to ensure that Lebanon obtains this field complete, and then return straight into the depth of the sea), which was included in the Lebanese offer of Hochstein on his last visit on June 14. That is, is the return to the Naqoura sessions to consolidate what is supposed to have been reached in the efforts made by Hochstein between the two sides, as the launch of the 2020 negotiations should be to complete the agreement on Berri’s achievement of obtaining the entire 860 square kilometer area?

If Berri’s emphasis on returning to Naqoura left room for this question in some circles that tend to be optimistic about Hochstein’s return, other well-informed circles are talking about data that the American mediator did not come up with anything that would allow the demarcation of the border to be accomplished soon, and that the return to the negotiation formula in Al-Naqoura gives hope that results can be reached, extends the research opportunity, and is a means to prevent any security breaches.

In his press symposium on Saturday, Berri pointed out that “the definitive answer is the day after tomorrow, and God willing, we will go to Naqoura, and what we have heard of news is that we will return to the framework agreement and not anything else. In his speech after his re-election to the presidency of Parliament on May 31, in which he called for the 128 deputies to say “a frank, strong and one yes against any compromising of Lebanon’s sovereign rights in its water rights.” He added, “No to concessions, bargaining or normalization, no matter how hard the pressures are… Whether or not the Qana field is complete.” This applies to the rejection of any suggestions that Israel is said to make about an international company distributing the invested gas and oil to Lebanon and Israel. The matter is “out of the question,” he says. As for the talk about a Qatari company distributing the produce from joint fields, Berri considers that “there are many words, but the truth is elsewhere.” And he expects, “the definitive answer is to go to Naqoura,” stressing the agreement of the three presidents that the President of the Republic negotiates and the delegation is a military one. When he was asked whether the “other thing” meant (avoiding) the war, he replied: “I did not say that.” But when he was asked whether Hezbollah’s marches helped (return to Naqoura), he said: “Without a doubt.” He considered that Europe’s need for gas would speed up the agreement on the demarcation.

Regarding the return of oil and gas exploration companies, Berri recalled that he had previously addressed France through its embassy and through the presidency that there is no justification for Total not to explore in the area chosen for this, because it is 25 kilometers away from the disputed area, but the Americans do not want to.

He denied that the import of gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan is linked to the agreement on the demarcation of the borders, pointing out that during his meeting with the former director of the World Bank in Lebanon and the new director, he was informed that the condition for financing the importation of Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity is the formation of the authority regulating the electricity sector, which is required from Lebanon first, second and eleventh The formation of the regulatory body according to a law issued 14 years ago and we did not implement it, “and not everything (the delay) is caused by an American.”

In the presidential election, Berri introduced an amendment to what was leaked about him about the possibility of inviting parliament to a session to elect the president since the constitutional deadline came into effect on September 1, linking this to the parliament’s completion of “the completion of laws and reforms related to the agreement with the International Monetary Fund during the month of August, which is important that We are benefiting from it, which we initiated in approving the most difficult in the last session, the law amending the Banking Secrecy Law. We are waiting for the government to provide us with regard to the budget at the exchange rate that it requested several times but did not bring. Even if you are late on September 1, this is the reason, because we must meet the next president in a new atmosphere.” But he added: «The duties of the Speaker of the Council are not only to call for the session. There are two factors that play a role in this: the first is the completion of the reform laws, and the second is the communication mechanism between the parties (to agree on the next president).

Although he hoped that a presidential vacuum would not occur, he answered a question about the need to amend the constitution if he was to elect Army Commander General Joseph Aoun to the presidency by insisting on “implementing the constitution.” However, when he was told that he had not been amended in order to elect President Michel Suleiman, he added: “The deadline (the six months that imposes the resignation of the army chief before the election, which fell due to the presidential vacuum after the termination of President Emile Lahoud’s term) was exceeded. The presidency has the right to do so.” But he pointed out that “there is neither a majority nor a minority in Parliament, and this was evident in the elections, parliamentary committees, and the presidency of the Council.”

In response to a question about the characteristics of the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Al-Rahi, for the next president, and his Christian background, he said: Since 1992, have you taken any issue (that does not take into account) any Christian significance?…Lebanon is multi-colored. The president must have a Christian and Islamic flavor and above all, patriotism in order to be inclusive. He described what is happening with regard to the void in the Sunni arena as “similar to 1992, when the Christians boycotted the elections, except in the south, and the country was lame. Today, with all due respect to the Sunni deputies, the elections from Akkar to Naqoura have proven that (the Future Movement) has space, and therefore there are differences in opinions, and I hear that the Mufti will bring them together on one word.” He confirmed that he is not in contact with Prime Minister Hariri, but I told him when he informed me of his decision (refusing the elections and suspending political work) that I do not understand this option.

He seemed opposed to dividing the Beirut municipality because “Lebanon is too small to be divided, like corn if it is divided, it explodes, and he ruled out security incidents due to the tense atmosphere in the country.

Berri’s role comes back to the fore as a matter of demarcation, and of course through the presidential election window, in addition to Parliament’s share of approving the reforms required by the IMF. Although he did not deny his disagreement with the caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, because he does not spoil the friendly case, and he contacted him in order to secure a meeting for the three presidents or a bilateral meeting, today while they were attending the Army Day, and he was the subject of Saturday’s call with Aoun, who said that his relationship with him « Very well.” Concerned sources explained to “Nidaa Al-Watan” that Berri accuses Mikati in his councils of delaying approving the budget because he did not specify the exchange rate, as some visitors quoted him, while he told reporters that the budget “is pure and on Thursday, if the exchange rate unification comes to me, we set a session to discuss it.” This condition is not in my hands…”

He contented himself with calling for the application of the law in the case of the Patriarchal Vicar General of the Maronites, Archbishop Moussa Al-Hajj.

Regarding his being held by the head of the Free Patriotic Movement responsible for the failure of President Aoun’s era and the possibility of an agreement with him, he asked: “Did he agree with everyone except me? If it is true, I will be to blame. But what I warned of happened.”

He considered that the riots that took place in the last parliamentary session “were given too much volume in the media.”

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