Hizbullah Delegation Meets Jumblat, Stresses 'Need to Elect President ASAP'

A Hizbullah delegation held talks Wednesday with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and stressed “the need to elect a new president as soon as possible.”

“The atmospheres are positive and we're all seeking to pull Lebanon out of the current dilemma with the least cost possible,” MP Mohammed Raad announced after the meeting with Jumblat at his Clemenceau residence.

“We stress the need to elect a new president because the country needs a president as soon as possible,” Raad added.

Jumblat for his part described the talks as “positive,” saying such meetings “contribute to overcoming difficulties.”

“The meeting was excellent and several domestic and foreign issues were discussed,” he added.

Declining to reveal more details, the Druze leader said his relation with Hizbullah is “special,” noting that “this is not the first meeting and it won't be the last.”

According to LBCI TV, the conferees expressed relief over the Lebanese state's approach towards the issue of the troops taken hostage by jihadist groups, expecting “an imminent, though partial, breakthrough in this case.”

“The meeting witnessed major agreement over a number of issues, including immunizing (the Bekaa region of) Rashaya against the repercussions of the Syrian crisis,” LBCI added.

MTV, meanwhile, reported that the talks focused on the issues of “controlling the Syrian-Lebanese border in the Hasbaya area and facilitating a prisoner swap in the case of the captive troops.”

In addition to Raad, the Hizbullah delegation comprised Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, MP Ali Ammar and Liaison and Coordination Officer Wafiq Safa.

A Hizbullah delegation had met Monday with newly-elected Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan. The two sides “agreed on the importance of consolidating unity, dialogue, understating and cooperation among the political parties in Lebanon,” according to a Hizbullah official.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May.

A number of electoral sessions were held at parliament, but the ongoing dispute between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate has resulted in a lack of quorum at the sessions.

Y.R.