The fate of a cabinet session set to discuss the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was not clear on Wednesday morning after a report said that the meeting was postponed to allow consultations to resolve the crisis more time.
An Nahar daily reported that the session which was scheduled to be held at Baabda palace on Wednesday afternoon was postponed to pave way for a final agreement among the cabinet members to avert the collapse of the government.
Last week, Premier Najib Miqati threatened to resign if the cabinet failed to approve the payment of 49 percent of Lebanon’s shares to the STL, around $33 million.
Informed sources told An Nahar that the decision to postpone the session was made to avoid a possible boycott of ministers loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun.
Aoun said on Tuesday that his Change and Reform bloc was ready to cooperate to find a solution to the funding crisis.
The ministers loyal to Aoun have conditioned their participation in the cabinet to a series of requests that the cabinet should meet. Among them is the adoption of a salary boost proposal made by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas.
While the proposal has been put on Wednesday’s 69-item agenda, other demands such as the approval of electricity and water development projects and making appointments at the Higher Judicial Council are still waiting for the cabinet’s green light.
Aoun’s son-in-law Energy Minister Jebran Bassil met with President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday in a bid to postpone the cabinet session. However, it was not clear if the head of state discussed the matter with Miqati and if they agreed to the proposal.
Informed sources told As Safir newspaper that the intense consultations between the political leaderships have made major progress but did not reach the expected happy ending.
The final solution, if reached, could be announced around noon Wednesday ahead of the session.
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