Suleiman to Resume Efforts to Launch Dialogue Based on Positive Investment of Resistance Arms

President Michel Suleiman is seeking to relaunch the National Dialogue at Baabda Palace to discuss the country’s defense strategy which he sees should be based on “the positive investment of the resistance weapons,” his sources said.

The sources told As Safir daily published Saturday that Suleiman met with the presidential team involved in the all-party talks to discuss what the National Dialogue has achieved and the reasons preventing the implementation of previous decisions particularly the disarmament of Palestinian bases outside the camps.

Suleiman believes that the confrontation of the Lebanese army to the Israeli violation in the southern town of Adeisseh and Hizbullah’s readiness to intervene had the military asked for help, is an example of the expected national defense strategy, the sources said.

They added that such a strategy is based on “the positive investment of the resistance weapons.”

Suleiman will intensify his consultations with leaders of political parties early next year in the hopes that all bickering parties would agree to attend the National Dialogue, the sources told As Safir.

But there are so far no common viewpoints between the different factions except for the acceptance of the “concept of dialogue,” they said.

Speaker Nabih Berri, Premier Najib Miqati and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat have encouraged Suleiman on holding the all-party talks but he is facing the hurdle of ex-PM Saad Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal movement and its allies in the March 14 forces that are insisting on putting the resistance weapons as the only item on the agenda of the dialogue, the sources added.