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Mikati Determined to Form New Lebanese Govt Despite Obstacles

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gestures as he attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2022. (Reuters)
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gestures as he attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2022. (Reuters)
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Mikati Determined to Form New Lebanese Govt Despite Obstacles

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gestures as he attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2022. (Reuters)
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati gestures as he attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2022. (Reuters)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed on Tuesday his determination to proceed with the cabinet formation process despite the many obstacles in his way.

“We are determined to continue work according to the constitution and the nation’s best interest; no one will be allowed to sabotage and obstruct the constitutional process,” Mikati said at the launch of a youth forum in Beirut.

The PM hoped that parliament will succeed in electing a new president within the constitutional deadline, because the existing challenges require cooperation and integration among constitutional institutions.

Last week parliament failed to elect a new head of state to replace President Michel Aoun whose term ends on Oct. 31. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said he would call lawmakers to convene again once they reach consensus over a candidate.

Mikati warned against suspicious attempts aimed at obstructing the implementation of the Taif Accord, which he said helped end the 1975-90 civil war and restore state institutions.

The accord may not be perfect, “but it is at least better than chaos and demagogy,” he added.

The agreement is the “natural framework” that can bring together the Lebanese people under common values, he stated, while stressing the need to implement all of its articles to achieve the higher national interest.

He also suggested that the pact could be adjusted to current times, while preserving its main goal of securing coexistence between the Lebanese people.

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.