MP Marwan Hamadeh revealed on Wednesday that he had held talks in Spring 2005 with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in order to inquire about the attempt against his life in October 2004.

“I met with Nasrallah in late April-early May to ask him if his party was behind the assassination attempt,” he said during his ongoing testimony at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Speaker Nabih Berri has denied that the much anticipated dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement would be postponed over differences on the agenda of the talks.

In remarks published in local dailies on Wednesday, Berri said: “I am 100 percent reassured and hope the first session would be held by the end of the year.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat reiterated Tuesday from the Riad al-Solh Square his support for a swap deal in the case of the captive servicemen who are being held by jihadist groups.

“My stance is clear and it's similar to that of (Speaker) Nabih Berri -- I support an unconditional swap deal,” Jumblat said after a brief meeting with the families of the hostage troops and policemen in Riad al-Solh.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon's Trial Chamber decided Tuesday to add MP Walid Jumblat and journalist Ali Hamadeh to the Prosecution's list of witnesses in the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, amid debate between the Defense and judges over remarks by MP Marwan Hamadeh describing the accused Hizbullah members as “criminals.”

The Trial Chamber assessed that Jumblat and Hamadeh can provide evidence in the case due to their contact with the slain premier before his death.

MP Marwan Hamadeh resumed on Monday his testimony before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon by recounting the developments in the country following the extension of President Emile Lahoud's term and detailing the assassination attempt against him in October 2004.

He said before the Trial Chamber: “A brief investigation was launched in my assassination attempt before Syrian officials took away the files and transported them to the headquarters of Syrian intelligence in Anjar.”

Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat have expressed anger at the performance of a committee tasked with resolving the crisis of Lebanese hostages.

The meetings of the committee, which is made up of ministers and security officials, haven't made progress, Berri told his visitors.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat is at The Hague where the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is based for possible consultations on his testimony in the trial of suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's Feb. 2005 assassination, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Thursday.

The daily said Jumblat traveled to the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat criticized on Monday proposals to resume coordination between the Lebanese and Syrian armies.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “What would such a suggestion achieve? Why should Lebanon help bolster the Syrian regime and its army after their credibility had reached their lowest points?”

Leader of the Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblat surprised on Sunday his followers on twitter by announcing that he is ready to personally negotiate in the kidnapped servicemen's case.

Jumblat tweeted on his official twitter account: “ Stop the nerve war on the families of the kidnapped servicemen.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stated on Saturday that chances are high for dialogue to yield well between al-Mustaqbal movement and Hizbullah, the As Safir daily reported on Saturday.

Berri described the dialogue-encouraging stance of al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri as “good”, saying: “Hariri's stance reiterates what I announced later on the necessity to keep the agenda of talks away from the issue of the Resistance's arms and the Syrian file, for difficulty of reaching an agreement on those two.”