Bassil from Ain el-Tineh: Berri showed 'openness to dialogue'

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil arrived Monday in Ain el-Tineh, with a delegation from the Strong Lebanon bloc, to meet with Speaker Nabih Berri, in the presence of some of Amal's MPs.

"Electing a new president is only possible through dialogue," Bassil said after the meeting. "The dialogue does not mean we no longer have political differences," he added.

In a press conference from Ain el-Tineh, Bassil went on to say that Berri showed positivity towards dialogue and willingness not only to discuss a program for the next president, but also to discuss candidates' names.

The Strong Lebanon bloc had started its "presidential paper" tour earlier on Monday with a meeting between a delegation from the bloc and another from the Democratic Gathering bloc.

Democratic Gathering bloc leader Taymour Jumblat and MPs Marwan Hamadeh and Hadi Abou el-Hassan attended the meeting in Clemenceau.

After the meeting, Abou el-Hassan said that the two delegations had a transparent and deep conversation over the presidential paper.

"We have some points in common, but others need further discussion," the lawmaker went on to say, stressing the importance of dialogue in Lebanon.

He added that his bloc is still supporting MP Michel Moawad as a candidate for presidency and that the two delegations did not go through names of candidates but rather discussed a program.