Hezbollah rejects request by Bassil to meet with Nasrallah

Hezbollah has rejected a recent request from Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil for meeting with the party’s secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a senior Shiite Duo source said.

“The dispute between Hezbollah and Bassil remained under control until the latter called Hezbollah Liaison and Coordination Officer Wafiq Safa to ask him to set up a meeting for him with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah to consult with him over the list of presidential candidates that he (Bassil) had prepared,” the source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Monday.

“Safa asked Bassil whether the list contained the name of Marada Movement chief ex-MP Suleiman Franjieh and Bassil answered that it did not, which prompted Safa to ask him about the reasons behind excluding him, especially that Nasrallah had informed him when he met him that Franjieh had the higher chances to be nominated for the presidency,” the source added.

This pushed Safa to “frankly tell Bassil that there is no need for him to meet with Nasrallah in the foreseeable future as long as he has not changed his stance,” the source revealed, noting that the phone call took place last week.