Jumblatt Says Aoun is Irrational Ruler Who Wants to Commit Suicide

 FILE PHOTO: PSP leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: PSP leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo
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Jumblatt Says Aoun is Irrational Ruler Who Wants to Commit Suicide

 FILE PHOTO: PSP leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: PSP leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo

Head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt described Lebanese President Michel Aoun as an "irrational ruler who wants to commit suicide.”

"Let him commit suicide alone, along with his dear son-in-law,” Jumblatt said in a TV statement, in reference to former Minister and MP Gebran Bassil.

His remarks came on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“Despite the severity of the circumstance, we must derive strength from the occasion. We have continued to some extent, and others must continue in the country of universities, diversity and civilized coexistence,” he noted.

Jumblatt further underlined the need for “a new political formula, as we cannot continue with the old one.”

“Today there is a destructive ruler and an absurd rule.”

Touching on the obstacles hindering the formation of a new government, he told Future TV that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri devised a formula that suits all components but rejected to grant the “vetoing third” to the president.

“Enough with this vetoing-third that impeded the country for 15 years!” Jumblatt added.

The PSP leader emphasized the need for “a constitutional way to resolve the current impasse.”

He reminded that French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need to implement reforms in exchange for help from the international community.

“We missed the opportunity,” Jumblatt said.



Turkish Energy Minister Says SOCAR May Become Partner in Providing Gas to Syria

Logo of Azerbaijan's SOCAR for natural gas. (Reuters)
Logo of Azerbaijan's SOCAR for natural gas. (Reuters)
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Turkish Energy Minister Says SOCAR May Become Partner in Providing Gas to Syria

Logo of Azerbaijan's SOCAR for natural gas. (Reuters)
Logo of Azerbaijan's SOCAR for natural gas. (Reuters)

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Wednesday that Azerbaijan's SOCAR could become a partner in Türkiye’s plans to provide Syria with natural gas, adding that Ankara hoped to start the provision soon.

Bayraktar said during a visit to Damascus in May that Türkiye would provide 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Syria annually, in addition to 1,000 megawatts of electricity.

"SOCAR might be a partner with us in this project. I hope we can normalize life in Syria," Bayraktar said during a visit to Vienna for an OPEC meeting.

Ankara, which supported opposition forces in neighboring Syria throughout the 13-year civil war that ended in December with the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, has now become one of the new Syrian government's main foreign allies while positioning itself to be a major player in Syria's reconstruction.