Lebanon's Speaker Nabih Berri has ruled out the overthrow of Premier Fuad Saniora's cabinet unless "consensus" was reached. The Shiite Amal movement leader said that while the formation of a national unity government would grant Lebanon "further immunity, however, I insist it should be preceded by consensus."
"I have strong reservations against toppling the government before reaching a consensus on the next cabinet in order to avoid a political vacuum," Berri was quoted by An-Nahar daily on Thursday. Berri said an agreement to reinstate national unity had been reached and would be announced during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Meanwhile, speaking in an interview with Al-Arabiyya TV he that he believed Arab-Israeli peace negotiations should be revived based on the Arab peace plan from 2002. "Lebanon can liberate its remaining occupied land through the resistance, as it did in the past, but it can achieve that through peace ... if it is a comprehensive peace that includes the whole region," said Berri.
