Geagea Says Dialogue with Aoun to Tackle Substantial, Basic Matters

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed on Sunday that dialogue had already kicked off with the Free Patriotic Movement, pointing out that talks will not only focus on the presidential deadlock but also touches on basic and notable matters.

“We are not seeking to carry out a dialogue to take pictures,” Geagea said in an interview published in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Seyassah.

He noted that the FPM and his party are seeking to defuse tension.

On Saturday, Change and Reform lawmaker Ibrahim Kanaan held a three-hour meeting with Geagea at his residence in Maarab in the presence of LF official Melhem Riachi.

The visit comes in light of preparatory tripartite talks held in Rabieh between Riachi the FPM chief MP Michel Aoun and MP Kanaan.

Riachi lauded in comments to al-Seyassah MP Kanaan, considering that the “negotiations are genuine and tackling all controversial matters.”

He said that the meeting between Aoun and Geagea, which will crown the talks, is part of the negotiations process between the two Christians parties.

For his part, Kanaan described in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper his meeting with Geagea as “serious and frank.”

“The talks aim at highlighting the common grounds between the two parties and announcing them.”

The lawmaker told the daily that efforts are focusing on the context of the dialogue to reach a successful and fruitful meeting between Aoun and Geagea, which will have a positive impact on the Christians and the country.

Geagea, a presidential candidate, revealed recently that both sides have exchanged the messages ahead of his expected talks with his rival Aoun. A week after the two parties announced that they have decided to drop lawsuits filed against journalists and media outlets affiliated with the two political groups.

The rivalry between Aoun and Geagea has left the Baabda Palace vacant. Lebanon has been without a head of state since President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May.

The MPs of the Change and Reform bloc of Aoun - also a candidate - and the majority of the lawmakers in the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance have boycotted the electoral sessions, causing a lack of quorum.