Suleiman Seeks to Bridge Gap between Foes, Meets with Raad
President Michel Suleiman carried on his consultations on Wednesday with Lebanese foes over the deteriorating situation in the country and the possibility of resuming the national dialogue sessions as soon as possible.
Suleiman held talks on Wednesday with Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc head MP Mohammed Raad at the Baabda Palace.
The president will also hold separate meetings with Speaker Nabih Berri, Progressive Socialist Partly leader MP Walid Jumblat, and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in the next few days.
Suleiman held talks on Tuesday with al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc head MP Fouad Saniora and Berri's advisor Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil.
On Sunday, he met with Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel to persuade him to resume the national dialogue.
The president also met separately on Monday with Prime Minister Najib Miqati and National Struggle Front Minister Wael Abou Faour.
Sources told An Nahar newspaper that Suleiman's meeting with Saniora didn't reach any agreement as the latter held on to the March 14 alliance's decision to boycott any official activity until the current cabinet led by Miqati resigns.
The daily reported that Saniora will hold talks soon with European and Arab ambassadors to Lebanon to “clear” the stances undertaken by the opposition.
An Nahar also said that Saniora held talks on Monday night with National Struggle Front Minister Ghazi al-Aridi to continue the contacts with Jumblat.
Saniora held the cabinet responsible for the security and political situation in the country, during the meeting with Suleiman, sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper.
Meanwhile, the daily reported that the meeting between the president and Khalil tackled the latest developments.
Khalil briefed Suleiman on the stances of the March 8 forces from the developments, noting that it will resume the national dialogue sessions and discuss the demands of the March 14 alliance if no previous conditions were set.
The upcoming all-party talks are expected to be held on November 12.
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