BEIRUT: There is no dispute or problem with Hezbollah over the decision to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, despite their rejection of the court, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said.

“I truly understand [Hezbollah’s] position. It is only normal for the party to admonish me over the tribunal funding,” Mikati said in remarks published Thursday by the Lebanese daily As-Safir.

“But this matter is behind us now ... and therefore Hezbollah and I cannot get involved in any problem or dispute, not even a confidence crisis,” he said, while stressing that he does “not work under pressure or respond to any attempt to pressure” him.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah last Thursday criticized Mikati’s decision to pay Lebanon’s share of the funding of the U.N-backed court, but said his party would not stir up trouble out of concern for the country’s political stability and the survival of the government.

In his interview with As-Safir, Mikati tacitly criticized former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his allies in the March 14 coalition for accusing Syria of having a hand in the deal to fund the STL.

“I believe that if Syria did in fact interfere it would have put pressure to prevent the head of the government from funding [the STL] and not vice versa,” he said.

“Unfortunately, there is no real sense of patriotism, especially as we have noticed recently how they managed to incite the [Sunni] street and mobilize the people on the basis that Najib Mikati will not and cannot fund the tribunal,” Mikati said.

“But in the end, funding took place. So what will they tell the people and how will they justify this [funding] to them?” Mikati asked.

Turning to the Hezbollah-led March 8 government, Mikati denied having concerns over the fate of the Cabinet. But he did not seem to be satisfied with government’s productivity.

“I’m not worried about the government, but I hope it will become productive,” he said, suggesting that the government was capable of greater achievements.

Mikati stressed that the socioeconomic situation is a priority and revealed that he was preparing for a widescale economic conference with the participation of the government, as well as that of economic bodies and the General Labor Confederation “in order to find ways to confront all challenges.”

The business tycoon from Tripoli, north Lebanon, spelt out the challenges facing him: Lebanon’s openness to the world and vice versa, reaching a balanced budget with minimum debt and battling drug trade and addiction seriously and effectively.