Jumblat: Only Dialogue Can Prevent Spillover of Syrian Crisis

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has stressed that only dialogue can prevent a spillover of the Syrian crisis into Lebanon, saying the Lebanese have two options: “entering the Syrian inferno or organizing their disputes.”

During a meeting with Lebanese expats on Saturday in Kuwait, Jumblat described the latest clashes in Tripoli as “very dangerous,” urging Lebanese leaders to avoid a crisis in the key northern city.

He also warned that the Lebanese army’s intervention in the city would be risky, noting that the Syrian army “suffered deterioration and divisions” when it intervened in its country’s crisis.

Jumblat hailed Saudi King Abdullah’s call for President Michel Suleiman to convene a national dialogue conference, saying “when the king asks us to shoulder the responsibility of dialogue, we must not find excuses to dodge it as the country’s fate is at stake.”

“Lebanon is a society that is sharply divided between supporters of the Syrian revolution and supporters of the regime,” Jumblat noted, saying the Lebanese have two options – “entering the Syrian inferno or organizing their disputes through dialogue.”

The Druze leader said he supports dialogue “without preconditions, unlike the March 14 camp which has insisted it won’t engage in dialogue in the presence of arms.”

Commenting on the issue of Hizbullah’s controversial arsenal of weapons, Jumblat said: “We will try to agree with it on a precise mechanism we have called a defense strategy that requires incorporating its weapons, at the right time and in the manner Hizbullah sees fit, into the Lebanese state.”

“Whoever believes that a solution can be reached by force is insane,” Jumblat added.

He also said Hizbullah’s weapons are beneficial in defending the country against Israel, but stressed that he is against their use