BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati defended Thursday his decision to suspend Cabinet meetings and said the move aimed at protecting government institutions.

“What happened in the past few days at the government level was not and will never be an evasion of responsibility,” Mikati said in a speech at Beirut Port.

Instead, the decision to suspend Cabinet sessions, he said, was aimed at “protecting government institutions, which must stay away from political bickering.”

“This [decision] could also make way for correcting the reality which could lead to more confusion if not corrected,” Mikati said on the occasion of the end of Phase 1 of rehabilitation work on Pier 16.

Mikati suspended Cabinet sessions earlier this month after a heated dispute with ministers loyal to Change and Reform bloc head MP Michel Aoun over administrative appointments.

“Governance is a responsibility and it is everyone’s responsibility to rise above national interests and each official is entitled to respect the institutions and those in charge of them,” he added.