Suleiman Consults 17 Leaders to Guarantee Success of 2nd Round of Dialogue

President Michel Suleiman is exerting strong efforts to garner the support of 17 Lebanese leaders on the agenda of the next national dialogue session that is scheduled to be held at Baabda palace on Monday.

An Nahar daily reported Friday that Suleiman has launched secret consultations with the top officials to guarantee the success of the second round of the all-party talks that are set to tackle the defense strategy and how to benefit from Hizbullah’s arsenal in addition to resolving the proliferation of arms in Lebanese cities.

During the first national dialogue session that resumed after a 19-month standstill on June 11, the bickering leaders agreed on the need to control the Lebanese-Syrian border following a series of deadly incidents and rejected the formation of a buffer zone between the two countries.

The March 8 majority and March 14 opposition officials also agreed to back the Lebanese army as the guarantor of national unity. They further struck a deal to keep Lebanon away from the policy of regional and international conflicts.

Presidential sources told An Nahar that Suleiman is convinced that he is capable of agreeing with the two camps on common grounds on Hizbullah’s arms.

By Monday, the president would have completed his separate talks with the 17 leaders to achieve the minimum level of agreement on the defense strategy similar to their Baabda Declaration of June 11, the sources said.

The Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition and the opposition are sharply divided on the defense strategy which March 14 sees it a way to disarm Hizbullah and integrate its weapons with the state.