Lebanon's Speaker of the House Nabih Berri followed up on political developments today, especially regarding the presidential file and the ongoing military situation due to Israel's aggression against Lebanon and Gaza, as well as legislative matters during his meeting with head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gibran Bassil. In an interview with the "Jadeed" channel this evening, Berri announced that "MP Gibran Bassil did not mention any names of presidential candidates. Regarding the head of the Marada Movement, Sleiman Franjieh, Bassil told me (we won't go with him)."
Regarding the dialogue under his presidency, Berri stated: "Bassil spoke about consensus and supported dialogue in both modalities and under my presidency, in this regard Gibran is better than others." In response to a question about dialogue without the "Lebanese Forces," Berri indicated that "the dialogue I invited to is known to everyone with its rules, and we will reach where we need to."
Around 6 PM, deputies from the "Strong Lebanon" bloc, led by MP Gibran Bassil, headed to the Kataeb Central House in Ashrafieh to meet with opposition deputies. A source from the opposition informed MTV that "Bassil is trying to be the 'swing vote' in today's political game." Meanwhile, information confirmed that "the opposition will notify Bassil that they will not accept any dialogue chaired by Berri, and the stance will be firm in refusing this matter."
