The Speaker of the House Nabih Berri warned that the chances of making a breakthrough in internal national dialogue, if it were to take place, are very low. He stated, "The September dialogue is an opportunity to reach an agreement that ends the presidential crisis; it should be seized and not missed. If we reach an agreement, the president will definitely be elected, and Lebanon will move from a deteriorating reality towards recovery. If we do not agree, we will enter a dark tunnel and Lebanon will pay additional heavy costs."
Berri pointed out, according to Al-Joumhouria, "If we had taken the path of dialogue from the beginning, the presidential crisis would have been behind us for months, and we would have spared this country the complications, bumps, and crises that have burdened the Lebanese. I have previously called many times to avoid a vacuum in the presidency, and I have advocated for dialogue with clear intentions as the only means to achieve the desired goal. We told them to come to the dialogue and test us to see if we are serious or not, but they evaded this dialogue. As a result, we descended into the situation we are in now. I stated very clearly in my speech on August 31 of last year, on the anniversary of Imam Sadr's disappearance, about two months before the end of the president's term, that we encourage and support any meeting that could lead to a general national consensus regarding the presidential entitlement. I confirmed then and reaffirm today that the presidential entitlement is a purely sovereign and national constitutional entitlement; let us make it an occasion to prioritize Lebanon's interests over any other interests."
