Berri Says Hizbullah-Mustaqbal Dialogue Has No Preconditions
Speaker Nabih Berri has denied preconditions were set for a dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement as he is exerting strong efforts to open communication channels between the rival parties.
Berri told his visitors on Thursday that he was preparing the agenda for the talks along with a similar measure taken by al-Mustaqbal.
“There are no preconditions for dialogue. There is an agreement on holding it,” local dailies published Friday quoted him as saying.
The speaker stressed it was not necessary for him or for Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat to attend the dialogue because its essence is for al-Mustaqbal and Hizbullah to reach some kind of understanding.
Berri is coordinating his initiative with MP Jumblat, who is a centrist.
Jumblat told As Safir newspaper that he has “full confidence” in Berri.
The speaker is “keen on the country and the uniformity of the institutions,” he said.
“Berri and I are careful to take the presidential elections to safe shores and to elect a new head of state as soon as possible,” he added.
In his remarks to his visitors, the speaker said it was "early to tell that the dialogue would be launched within days. But setting a date for it would come in light of the finalization of its agenda."
The agenda is expected to include all issues that the rival parties could agree on, said Berri, who heads the Amal movement that is allied with Hizbullah.
The speaker was asked by his visitors about a Saudi request made to the U.N. Security Council to add Hizbullah to its sanctions list and whether it could affect the dialogue.
Berri replied: “Contacts will be held with the Saudis within days about their recent stance from Hizbullah, so that this position does not perturb the dialogue efforts.”
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