Miqati Welcomes Berri’s Dialogue Initiative, Says ‘No Alternative for Reconciliation’

Prime Minister Najib Miqati welcomed on Saturday Speaker Nabih Berri’s initiative for dialogue over the recent clashes that erupted in the northern port city of Tripoli.

“Dialogue is the only way to resolve the situation in the city,” sources close to Miqati told As Safir newspaper.

The premier pointed out that there is “no alternative to dialogue and reconciliation.”

Miqati noted that Berri’s initiate came at the “right time as its necessary.”

The speaker held talks on Thursday with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri on the possibility of calling the leaders of the national dialogue committee to a meeting under the chairmanship of President Michel Suleiman that would “at least discuss” the latest unrest in Tripoli.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat also welcomed Berri’s suggestion, expressing hope that launching dialogue over the recent developments in Tripoli would set the agenda for broader talks.

Clashes sparked over the weekend in Tripoli between the mainly Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Alawite Jabal Mohsen after the General Security Department detained Islamist Shadi al-Mawlawi on charges of belonging to a terrorist group.

Sectarian clashes between residents of the two districts earlier this week left 10 people dead and over 100 wounded and raised fears that the revolt in Syria could engulf its tiny neighbor.