Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said today, Tuesday, that he would not hesitate to resign from his post if this would help resolve the crisis in Lebanon.
Mikati added in a press conference in Beirut that if he felt that his resignation would lead to more ruin and unrest, he would not do so.
With regard to the disruption of Cabinet meetings since last October, the Lebanese Prime Minister considered that the suspension of sessions constitutes an imbalance that cannot be ignored or condoned.
He said that he seeks to resume the sessions of the Council of Ministers by the new year because there are necessary entitlements, including the adoption of the new budget.
The Lebanese Prime Minister announced that he had signed a decree to hold parliamentary elections next May and referred it to President Michel Aoun, expecting the latter to approve it.
Mikati stressed the need for investigations into the Beirut port explosion to take its legal course, reiterating the call to keep the judiciary away from attempts of political exploitation.
He also called for a national dialogue on foreign policy and for improving relations with the Gulf states, saying that Lebanon is an independent country, and that it does not recognize the presence of Iranian influence over it.
On another topic, Mikati said that Central Bank of Lebanon Governor Riad Salameh should remain in his position at present despite the investigations targeting him regarding embezzlement in Lebanon and abroad.
Aoun questioned the logic behind the disruption of cabinet sessions (Reuters)
Dialogue to solve the crisis
Yesterday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for an urgent national dialogue to reach a solution to the Lebanese crisis.
Aoun said - in a speech broadcast on television - that this solution is a new system based on administrative decentralization, defense strategy, and a financial recovery plan.
With regard to the current political crisis, he asked, "With what Sharia, logic or constitution, is the Council of Ministers suspended, and its work is suspended due to an issue that does not constitute a charter dispute?"
He stressed that he wanted better relations with the Gulf states after a severe diplomatic crisis in October, during which Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations with Lebanon against the background of statements by former Information Minister George Qardahi about the war in Yemen.
On October 13, the cabinet session, which was scheduled at the time, was postponed indefinitely, following the insistence of ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and the Amal movement, that the council discuss the investigation file of the Beirut port explosion, in preparation for the dismissal of the judicial investigator, Judge Tariq. Al-Bitar, after being accused of politicization, and no ministerial session has been held since that date.
Lebanon has been suffering for more than two years from an unprecedented severe economic crisis that led to a record collapse in the value of the local currency against the dollar, as well as a shortage of fuel and medicine, and the collapse of purchasing power.