MP Kanaan: Meeting between Aoun and Suleiman "very positive"

Source: nowlebanon.com, 17-06-2008

MP Ibrahim Kanaan of the Change and Reform bloc headed by MP Michel Aoun said that the meeting joining Aoun to President Michel Suleiman was "very positive."

"Several solutions for the establishment of the government were discussed during the meeting," Kanaan told Al-Sharq al-Awsat daily, adding that "The discussions will be resumed later on."
According to Kanaan, Suleiman confirmed to Aoun that neutrality is essential, and it is not acceptable for anyone in a position of power to abuse it.

Kanaan noted that Aoun's suggestion to distribute the sovereign ministries across all sects and to give the president two of them, one for a Muslim and the second for a Christian, "has opened the door for political discussions and consultations."

He said that the solution will come from ensuring participation in the government in accordance with the Doha Agreement. "The Free Patriotic Movement will not accept being outside the decision-making circle," Kanaan said.

He said he was stumped over the reason the FPM is being blocked from taking key ministries, whether sovereign or not, such as the Telecommunications, Justice and Public Works ministries.

"PM Saniora's two-basket solution is a fad," Kanaan said, referring to the PM's suggestion of giving the opposition and majority groups of ministries, with each containing one sovereign.