Lebanese PM wins new deadline to form government

Lebanese Prime Minister Moustapha Adib after his visit to President Michel Aoun on Thursday, September 17, 2020 in Beirut.

AFP / Dalati and Nohra

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Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Moustapha Adib is struggling to form a government.

He was granted until Sunday after meeting President Michel Aoun, Thursday, September 17.

Negotiations still come up against the demands of the Shiite parties.

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

Paul Khalifeh

The 15-day deadline agreed on September 1 between Emmanuel Macron and the Lebanese parties to form a "

 mission government 

" has passed, and

Moustapha Adib

is aware that he does not have the luxury of time.

But the French officials in charge of the Lebanese file know the difficulties encountered by the Prime Minister designate and encouraged him, with President Michel Aoun, to continue his efforts.

Talks with Hezbollah that are not moving forward

Mustapha Adib met on Thursday with negotiators from Hezbollah and the Amal movement, with whom he discussed ways to overcome the obstacles that are delaying the birth of the government.

This meeting is a step forward, as the two Shiite parties criticized the Prime Minister-designate for forming the government by consulting only his own Sunni political camp.

But the Shiites are

camping in their positions

.

The Hezbollah parliamentary bloc hammered it again on Thursday: the community demands to appoint its ministers and insists on keeping the finance ministry.

Moustapha Adib therefore wants to give the negotiations a chance by hoping to be able "to 

count on the cooperation of all parties

 ".

At the same time, he assured that he did not wish to deviate from his mission, which is to form a government of specialists, independent and efficient.

Any different approach is incompatible with the mission entrusted to him, he stressed, however.

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  • Lebanon

  • Michel Aoun

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