Preparatory Meetings for Hizbullah-Mustaqbal Dialogue Almost Complete

The consultations setting the stage for the dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement have almost been completed and are awaiting Speaker Nabih Berri's decision to set the date for the talks, the Hizbullah leader's aide, Hussein Khalil, said.

The preparatory meetings, which have been held between Berri's aide Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Nader Hariri, the advisor of al-Mustaqbal movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri, are paving way for the dialogue, Hussein Khalil told As Safir daily published on Wednesday.

“When we agreed on the dialogue, we insisted on having talks without preconditions,” he said, adding “we still hold onto that conviction.”

Khalil said Hizbullah backs any measure that would lead to security and political stability and revive constitutional institutions.

Berri was also upbeat about the dialogue, telling MPs during his weekly meeting with lawmakers from different blocs that things were on the right track.

He told his visitors a day earlier that there were no differences between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal on the agenda of the talks.

He said he would preside the first round of talks in Ain el-Tineh soon. “The conferees could later agree on any other venue.”

The talks will focus on the latest developments and would not deal with issues that could cause obstacles to an agreement between the two sides, Berri said.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, the agenda is topped by the presidential crisis, the electoral law and ways to limit sectarian tension.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since May when President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended amid a failure to find a successor over differences between the rival March 8 and March 14 alliances on a compromise candidate.

An al-Mustaqbal lawmaker also told As Safir that the consultations aimed at striking a deal on the agenda are based on limiting tension between the Shiite and Sunnis sects and reaching a solution to the presidential deadlock.

However, discussions on a new electoral law would come at a later stage, said the MP, who was not identified.

G.K.

H.K.