“If Israel invades us, total war in the region” –

Nabih Berri, president of the Lebanese Parliament, speaks once more. In an interview with Avvenire, the first given following years of silence, the politician of the Country of Cedars analyzed the geopolitical situation: “The situation in the area is very dangerous. And not only for the Middle East, also in Europe there is the war in Ukraine, and an expansion of the conflict in the entire region would have serious repercussions also in Europe and in the world”. “If Israel were to try to enter Lebanon, it will not remain only here. The Islamic Republic of Iran has openly declared that in this case there will be an inter-regional war”, warns Berri, in the interview held in the residence in Beirut with Nello Scavo and Marina Pupella.

Looking at the situation in the US, the president comments as follows: “Even today we have heard statements from the US according to which there will be no war in Lebanon. In any case, despite the mistakes that Joe Biden is making, I believe that even with a Republican president, US foreign policy cannot change. Americans continue to give more importance to the war in Ukraine than to the Middle East.”

Reporting, instead, on the election of the new Head of State, awaited for two years, the Lebanese president takes stock of the timing: “We are at an advanced stage. I asked the group leaders to open a dialogue and find an agreement on the candidates in seven or ten days at the most to fulfill this duty and give Lebanon a president. Our Constitution preserves the confessional division, therefore the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the president of the Parliament must be a Shiite Muslim. I have committed myself not to leave anyone out and to ensure that the political dialogue is inclusive”. Finally, Berri does not forget the contacts with the diplomacy of the Holy See: “I recently received Cardinal Parolin, with whom we spoke at length also regarding our difficulties in the process of electing the next Head of State. And in my heart there are always the words and the promise of the Pope. The Holy Father told me that once our Parliament has elected the new president, he will come to Lebanon. We want this to happen as soon as possible”.