Berri Praises Hizbullah-Mustaqbal Dialogue's 'National Security' Breakthrough

Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that the dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement achieved major results, such as the consolidation of national security, and said it will continue to make serious progress.

The talks between the two parties' representatives “is not a folklore and not (only aimed at) limiting Sunni-Shiite tension,” Berri told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published on Tuesday.

The dialogue “achieved important results and will likely accomplish more,” he said.

The rivals have so far held two rounds of talks under Berri's sponsorship at his residence in Ain el-Tineh.

“The second meeting was far more important … because they (the Hizbullah-Mustaqbal representatives) agreed to (preserve) national security,” Berri told the daily.

“They have lifted the full cover off those breaching security,” he said.

“Security institutions will no longer have the excuse to claim that they went to arrest wanted criminals but did not find them,” Berri added.

The speaker told Asharq al-Awsat that he is currently not mulling to expand the talks to include other political parties despite his support for a planned meeting between Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.

The circumstances are not ripe for a comprehensive dialogue similar to the all-party talks that he called for in 2006, said Berri.

On the contrary, the speaker said he favored the talks to be limited between two officials only.

He stressed that since the beginning of the Hizbullah-Mustaqbal dialogue in December, he did no interfere in its details.

“I had only set certain standards to guarantee its success,” he said.

G.K.

H.K.