According to sources familiar with the meeting between Presidents Michel Aoun and Saad Hariri yesterday, the atmosphere was significantly affected by the heated exchanges between them over the past weeks. The brief discussion, lasting less than half an hour, was largely lukewarm, and no reproach was made regarding their previous statements toward each other during their ongoing disputes. Instead, they moved directly into serious discourse, reiterating their previous positions to each other. However, President Hariri emphasized the importance of seizing the available opportunity to quickly form a rescue government, which would expedite the opening of external aid to Lebanon.
According to those familiar with the meeting, neither party indicated a willingness to accept any compromise solutions that could lead to a positive breakthrough in the wall of disagreement between them. On the contrary, yesterday's meeting reaffirmed the core disagreement between them, with each remaining steadfast in its conditions and "criteria" for forming the government. This indicates that the negative stalemate in the formation file will persist for a long time while awaiting local or external conditions that could initiate a shift toward a more positive path. Furthermore, sources surrounding the government formation process confirmed to "Al-Jumhouria" that any new movement, whether internal or external, is doomed to fail, given the deadlock between Presidents Michel Aoun and Saad Hariri, with each entrenched in an unyielding position: each president desires his own government and aims to compel the other to accept it, with neither willing to concede or move closer to the other.
Conversely, sources knowledgeable about the presidential stance informed "Al-Jumhouria" that there are no positive indicators in the formation process. The President did not receive anything constructive from the designated Prime Minister that could build towards progress. According to these sources, the President's position remains firm in asserting adherence to constitutional provisions in the formation process that emphasize his full partnership in it, as well as his refusal to allow any attempts to bypass his powers and his right to nominate ministers and express opinions on other ministers. He also does not demand a blocking third in the government, but insists on applying objective criteria in forming the government, which requires proper representation that cannot be achieved with a small cabinet of 18 ministers but rather necessitates at least a 20-minister government. This explains his renewed rejection yesterday of Hariri's draft based on the equation of three stalemates.
Additionally, sources confirmed that yesterday's meeting between Aoun and Hariri was closer to the last one they held before Christmas, after which there was more than seven weeks of communication breakdown between them, indicating that matters remain at a standstill. Hariri's visit to Baabda yesterday aimed to shift the responsibility for facilitating the formation onto Aoun, insisting that his proposed government draft from the pre-Christmas meeting remains the suitable governmental format for the upcoming rescue phase. This was refused by the President, who reiterated the criteria he had previously set for government formation, quickly returning the ball to Hariri's court by stating that he, Hariri, had not brought anything new regarding the government file.
Notably, according to the same sources, the presidential office intentionally indicated that Hariri's visit to Baabda yesterday occurred at his request, not at the President's invitation. This was interpreted as Aoun wanting to prevent the belief that the visit was made at his invitation, thereby avoiding any interpretation of the visit as a retreat on the part of the President.
