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Jumblat Meets Assad: Forming New Govt Boosts Lebanon, Syria Stability

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat held talks Thursday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, in the presence of caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi.

During the meeting, Jumblat “voiced his hope that Syria will be able to overcome this critical period in its history through endorsing the reforms launched by President Assad,” according to a statement issued by the PSP following the Druze leader’s return to Beirut.

Jumblat told Assad that implementing his promised reforms would strengthen Syria’s national unity, according to the statement.

“That can be achieved through broad national dialogue, which would lay the groundwork for a new period characterized by stability and reform,” PSP’s statement quoted Jumblat as saying.

The Druze leader also voiced his rejection of “any foreign intervention in Syria.”

He stressed “the importance of stability in Syria, whose stability is tied to Lebanon’s stability according to the Taef Accord, the thing that necessitates the quick formation of a new cabinet in Lebanon.”

Earlier Thursday, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA said Assad hoped during his talks with Jumblat that the Lebanese would succeed in overcoming their disputes and form a new government soon for the country’s greater good.

The talks also addressed the latest security developments in Syria, according to SANA.


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