Suleiman ‘Obsessed’ with Dialogue to Reach ‘National Reconciliation’

President Michel Suleiman is waiting for the return of opposition leader and former Premier Saad Hariri from France to discuss with him his invitation for all-party talks at Baabda palace, presidential sources told al-Joumhouria daily Saturday.

The sources said that Suleiman’s only “obsession” is to gather the bickering politicians at the dialogue table to consolidate the country against the “regional storm blowing on Lebanon.”

They stressed that the president would not allow the resumption of the dialogue on the foundations of previous talks as feared by the March 14-led opposition. He is seeking to create a strong “foundation for a comprehensive national reconciliation.”

Suleiman has already met with several politicians to listen to their viewpoints on his invitation for dialogue. On Friday, he met with Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun who, according to An Nahar newspaper, expressed his readiness to participate in the all-party talks and facilitate the process.

On Saturday, the president met with al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader former PM Fouad Saniora.

The president is expected to address the issue of dialogue in his speech on the occasion of Army Day on August 1 but he would stress on the importance of the talks at the Iftar banquet he is scheduled to throw on Aug. 11 in honor of political and spiritual leaders.