Berri Says Mustaqbal-Hizbullah Dialogue is Necessary, AIPU Meeting in Beirut Next Month

Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that the dialogue between al-Mustaqbal movement and Hizbullah has become a “national necessity,” which helped restore calm.

The talks between the two rivals proved that they are a “national necessity that achieved a tangible stability.”

“Hadn't there been for the dialogue, there wouldn't have been the calm that we are witnessing,” local newspapers published on Monday quoted Berri as saying.

Despite the rhetoric used by some of the two parties' leaders, “they are continuously holding onto dialogue,” the speaker, who is sponsoring the talks in Ain el-Tineh since last December, told his visitors.

The next round of talks will be held on time next Thursday, Berri said.

Al-Akhbar newspaper also quoted al-Mustaqbal officials as saying that Saudi Arabia has an interest in preventing the collapse of the dialogue despite Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's criticism of its military operation in Yemen.

A Saudi-led coalition began bombing Yemen on Thursday, saying it was targeting the Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies, which include forces loyal to Yemen's former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Berri also revealed to his visitors that the meeting of the Arab Inter-parliamentary Union (AIPU) will be held in Beirut end of April.

Berri said he told the current head of the union, Kuwaiti Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim, that the security situation in Lebanon is currently much better than other countries in the region.

“Lebanon can host this conference,” he added.

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