NNA - President of the Republic Michel Sleiman, has been officially notified over P.M. Najib Mikati's resignation, the General-Directorate at Baabda presidential Palace just announced.



Based on Provision 1 of Article 69 of The Constitution, the President consented to Mikati's resignation but urged him to stay on and carry on with the dispensation of regular Cabinet functions in his present capacity as care-taker Prime Minister up till a new cabinet is formed.



In his letter of resignation to the president, the outgoing P.M. restated high hopes for the resumption of national dialogue under a transitional government capable of preserving unity and stability. Mikati aspired to see a "package-deal" cabinet put in place and reiterated that his reasons for resignation were strictly personal rather than being dictated to him by the outside.


==========G.G./R.K.