- Hariri officially withdrew his resignation after a Cabinet session
- Ministers agreed to follow a new dissociation policy
- A Hezbollah representative said the group is committed to the government's policy statement
- Hariri will visit Paris Friday to participate in an International Support Group for Lebanon meeting
Prime Minister Saad Hariri withdrew his resignation Tuesday after a Cabinet session where ministers unanimously endorsed a fresh dissociation policy.
Hariri made the announcement after the first Cabinet session to be held in over a month due to the political crisis caused by his resignation announcement in early November and 18-day absence from the country.
"The Cabinet decides that all groups represented in the government dissociate themselves from any dispute, conflict or war from regional conflicts," the premier told journalists after the session.
Hariri said that there has been a unanimous commitment to implement the government's policy in both words and actions.
At the beginning of the session, President Michel Aoun said that Lebanon's unity during Hariri's absence was vital and enabled the country to get through the crisis.
"Countries are not measured by their size. They are all equal in dignity and hence our approach to the crisis was based on not accepting any encroachment on our dignity by any authority in the world," Aoun told the gathered ministers, according to a post on his official Twitter account. "We took the decision to confront [the situation] and not [to take an approach of] appeasement. Our unity as Lebanese was the basis in protecting the country's stability."
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Hariri also focused on the officials' responsibilities to protect Lebanon from dangers facing the country. "We hope that this session constitutes a new opportunity for cooperation and for protecting Lebanon, especially since we all refused to be drawn in by attempts to create an atmosphere of chaos to the country."
Hariri had met with Aoun before the session, as is customary.
The session held at Baabda Palace was called for late Monday night ahead of Hariri's scheduled visit to Paris Friday to participate in a high-level International Support Group for Lebanon meeting.
Ahead of entering the session, some ministers commented on the statement that is expected to be announced at the end of the session.
Youth and Sports Minister Mohammad Fneish, who represents Hezbollah in the Cabinet, said that Hezbollah is committed to the government's policy statement and that the statement being discussed affirms the government's policy statement. "We agree on it," he added.
"Today, there will be a new start for the government, and this time [it comes] with a huge popular momentum that has reached a point of a semi-national consensus that we rarely witness in Lebanon," Minister of State for Administrative Development Inaya Ezzeddine said in a post on her official Twitter account, which also praised international and regional support for Lebanon. "When all of this comes together, it constitutes the perfect situation for accomplishments and productivity."
This article has been adapted from its original source.
