Suleiman: I'll Resume Contacts in Bid to Relaunch Dialogue on August 16

President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday announced that he will resume contacts aimed at relaunching national dialogue, noting that the parties that choose to boycott the upcoming session would be held responsible for the consequences of their decision.

“I will resume my contacts and efforts starting this evening in a bid to relaunch national dialogue on August 16 and I will hold all parties responsible” for failing to participate in dialogue, Suleiman said in a speech he delivered during the annual iftar banquet at the presidential palace in Baabda.

The president added that all parties must exert serious efforts in order to “overcome obstacles, avoid crises and dissipate fears through the approach of dialogue.”

“In a country like Lebanon, progress and reform can only be achieved through dialogue and consensus, as the violent methods which are rejected by the people are incapable of imposing any solution,” Suleiman added.

He called for “encouraging the members of the national dialogue committee to move forward, despite the difficulties, in their efforts to achieve understanding and agreement over the national defense strategy that Lebanon needs in the face of the Israeli enemy and over the issue of arms and all its aspects.”

“Lebanon’s higher interest and the need to protect civil peace and keep the country away from the negative repercussions of the ongoing events in our region oblige all parties to engage in dialogue with an open mind and an open heart concerning all the controversial issues,” Suleiman added, calling on all parties to “give up the preconditions they have declared.”

The president said it was ironic that dialogue had ground to a halt “at a time the U.N. Security Council itself met to laud the call for resuming dialogue and to encourage the political leaders to carry on with dialogue, and so did the European Union.”

“Let us benefit from the clear regional and international support,” Suleiman added.

He called for “resuming discussions over the means to fully implement the stipulations of the Taef Accord without any hesitation.”

Suleiman also called for “abiding by all the resolutions of the Baabda Declaration, especially the need to seek the implementation of the previous agreed resolutions; the need to keep Lebanon away from the policies of axes and the regional and international conflicts; and supporting the army morally and materially given that it is the institution that guarantees civil peace and reflects national unity.”

Turning to the Syrian crisis, Suleiman hoped “a political solution will be found as soon as possible.”

“Let us look forward to the coming days with hope and determination, away from any fear, artificial incitement of tensions, recklessness or extremism,” Suleiman added.