Saniora Urges Mustaqbal MPs Not to Enter into Debate with March 8 Coalition

Head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora called on lawmakers not to engage in an argument with the March 8 alliance over the controversial ministerial policy statement.

According to the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, published on Sunday, the Mustaqbal movement wants to avoid further arguments with its political foes.

In comments published in An Nahar newspaper, al-Mustaqbal Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq expected that discussions at the meetings of the ministerial panel tasked with drafting a policy statement will be “difficult” after President Michel Suleiman and Hizbullah were locked in a war of words over the matter.

“Our stance is clear, the policy statement should set the defense strategy between the state and resistance,” Mashnouq told the daily.

“Any remarks outside this context will not be adopted.”

Asked if the spat between Suleiman and Hizbullah would have an impact on Monday's meeting of the ministerial panel, the minister said “there is still time to rectify the matter.”

On Saturday, Hizbullah and the president were at loggerheads over Suleiman's recent statement concerning the cabinet's policy statement.

Suleiman said Friday that the land, people and common values formed the country's “permanent equation,” describing that the people-army-resistance equation as “wood.”

Hizbullah's slammed on Saturday Suleiman's comments, accusing him of not being able to differentiate between “what's golden and what's wooden.”

The party said that Baabda Palace has come to require “special care."

Suleiman replied via twitter saying that what Baabda Palace needs is acknowledging the unanimous consensus over the Baabda Declaration that was reached inside its premises.

The president's suggestion comes as political foes in the country have not reached an agreement yet over the ministerial policy statement with the March 14 camp voicing rejection to the “army-people-resistance formula," which their March 8 rivals insist on.