Hours before the start of the first session of the Lebanese-Israeli security track, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri issued a remarkable position by rejecting direct negotiations and the security track together, stressing that he does not even want to know what will happen within the meeting, while stressing that Lebanon is going to negotiations “without power cards” that would allow it to extract any gain.
On the eve of the first meeting of the security track team emerging from the fourth round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, scheduled to be held today, Friday, Berri renewed his rejection of direct negotiations and the security track, stressing that he is not concerned with what will be presented during the meeting.
He said: “I do not know what will happen there, and I do not want to know,” stressing that his priority at the current stage is limited to a ceasefire and addressing the refugee crisis, in light of the continuing Israeli escalation and the expansion of displacement in the south.
He indicated that he is aware of the composition of the meeting, which includes 3 Lebanese soldiers, 3 Israelis, and 3 Americans, but he stressed that he does not know what the Lebanese delegation is bringing to the meeting and does not want to know that, adding: “I only ask for a ceasefire, and we have nothing else.”
Berri considered that previous ceasefire agreements were not respected, saying: “We reached a ceasefire agreement four times and none of them were respected. We are now in a 45-day truce without an actual ceasefire, while the war continues and destruction expands in the southern towns, without the presence of a real guarantor.”
He renewed his adherence to indirect negotiations, considering that any direct negotiations with Israel require the possession of elements of strength and negotiating cards that allow achieving gains or imposing balanced conditions.
He added: “I am against direct negotiations. I was and will continue to be, because we go to them and do not carry with us anything to negotiate with. Whoever sits at a negotiating table must have cards to present in order to be able to extract a gain, and to sit with an enemy with a minimum of parity and balance. With what do we go there? Nothing, not a single card.”
He recalled the experiences of maritime demarcation in 2022 and reaching a ceasefire in 2024, noting that indirect mediation proved effective in both cases, and that the mediator played an essential role in transferring ideas and proposals between the two sides to reach understandings.
He said, “The mediator, any mediator, has an interest in making his mission successful and extracting concessions from both parties,” considering that this is what the current direct negotiations lack.
Regarding internal affairs, Berri registered a clear objection to what was stated in the speech of Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem regarding the threat of overthrowing the government of President Nawaf Salam in the street.
He said: “I am not with him and I do not agree with him, and it is unnecessary for these words to be said. He did not please me and we quickly addressed the issue,” revealing that the leadership of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah held two meetings in the following two days to correct this position.
He stressed that what he means at the current stage is preventing any internal deterioration or political tension, adding: “What concerns me at the present time and what I intervene in is preventing any recklessness or internal problem. I am only interested in that.”
Regarding regional efforts, Berri stressed the importance of the Iranian role in pushing for a ceasefire in the south, stressing that Tehran informed Lebanon that it would not conclude any agreement with the United States in which Lebanon was not a major clause, even if it was forced to abandon the agreement entirely.
