Member of the "Democratic Gathering," MP Wael Abu Faour confirmed that "we are not here for showmanship or demonstrations, and the Democratic Gathering states that its effort is not an initiative but a drive to stir stagnant waters." He stated via "LBCI" channel: "We are acting from our sense of the impasse we are experiencing, and there is no external signal for movement; the quintet committee is afraid of regional developments."
He continued: "We are trying to bring viewpoints closer, and our effort stems from our internal sense of responsibility." Abu Faour added that the former president of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, advised French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian not to come to Lebanon if the presidential file has not matured.
Regarding Jumblatt's visit to Qatar, he said: "It addressed general topics and the scale of risks facing Lebanon and how to assist institutions, but no names were proposed for the presidency." Abu Faour affirmed that "our efforts are not over yet, but we have finished our communications, and next week we have a meeting with Berri and Mikati where we have gathered some ideas, without any illusions that we will achieve success quickly."
He stated: "We see that the dialogue should be chaired by Berri." He added: "President Berri says: 'Give me a dialogue and I will give you a president,' and we trust this proposal." He continued: "There are two proposals on the table: the first is dialogue chaired by Berri, and the second is against dialogue and against Berri's presidency of any dialogue table."
He pointed out that "the blocs that demonize dialogue participated in previous discussions, and the problem is that some want to know the identity of the president before agreeing to the dialogue." He added: "We cannot accept dialogue today and reject it the next day because we were not pleased with its results; this country is a country of dialogue that forms a national umbrella." He considered that "the balances in the parliamentary council prevent any breakthrough without dialogue."
