Mikati's Circumstances Respond to Bassil's Threat: Don't Complicate Matters!

Sources close to the appointed Prime Minister Najib Mikati indicated that all matters are postponed until after the Eid al-Adha holiday, at which point the clear distinctions will emerge. These sources acknowledged the existence of many complexities in the Lebanese political scene, hoping that this would not adversely affect the government formation process. They anticipated that Mikati would meet with the President after the holiday, and based on this meeting, matters would be determined positively or negatively. The sources wished that the issue of government formation could be left to the President and the appointed Prime Minister to devise solutions, as this would lead to much better outcomes. In response to Bassil's threat to withdraw Christian ministers from the caretaker government, Mikati's sources expressed that "no one has an interest in complicating matters, as we should not forget that we are on the brink of presidential elections, and a process of de-escalation remains preferable to escalation."