Geagea: STL is a red line

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Tuesday that the UN probe into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri “is a red line,” adding that there will be no discussion about its legitimacy and work, according to a statement released by his office

He told reporters that the Saudi-Syrian initiative to resolve tensions in Lebanon “is just a bunch of ideas proposed by both sides.”

Geagea also said the March 8 coalition’s idea of a compromise to end the crisis is for Prime Minister Saad Hariri and March 14 to make all the concessions with no commitments from the other side or Syria. He added the “March 8 forces should take preliminary steps to engage in a serious dialogue.”

March 14 is not ready to make any more concessions but is willing to cooperate to preserve stability in Lebanon, added the statement.

The LF leader repeated the statement of PM Hariri over the reports of a cabinet change calling them “unfounded” and adding that March 14 wants to resume cabinet sessions in order to address the people’s concerns.

Saudi and Syrian officials have reportedly been working on a compromise that would resolve tensions in Lebanon over the imminent Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) indictment . Reports say that the STL may soon indict Hezbollah members in its investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri, father of Saad the current prime minister.

PM Hariri said during an interview with the Al-Hayat newspaper that was published on Friday that the Saudi-Syrian (S-S) agreement on reducing tension in Lebanon had been finalized a long time ago, even before King Abdullah , traveled to New York for the treatment but blamed Hezbollah and its March 8 allies for not living up to their end of the deal.

Hariri also said : “ I will not implement any commitment I made before the other party ( read Hezbollah) implements what it said it would commit to and added ‘anything else is an attempt to sabotage the Saudi-Syrian efforts.”

” This is the major base of the Syrian-Saudi efforts”. Hariri stressed.

Hariri said he decided to break his months-long silence to defend the Saudi-Syrian process against a campaign aimed at distorting it. “I have kept silent for months. Now, I have broken silence just because I am responsible and concerned with protecting this process in the interest of the country and its stability.”

Hariri did not reveal the details of the Saudi-Syrian deal, but his political adviser, Mohammad Shatah, said during an interview on Friday that the Saudi-Syrian deal is aimed at achieving stability in Lebanon, by taking specific steps to reduce political tension, such as restoring contacts between Lebanese factions, ensuring that state institutions return to serving the public and following up on the issue of Lebanese-Syrian ties.