Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said on Wednesday that if he held talks with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri the meeting will be announced and would not be “secret.”

“We didn’t hold a meeting, why are you making a big fuss out of it?” he wondered in remarks published in al-Liwaa newspaper.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Monday that the facts and figures in the 2002 report on humanitarian development in the Arab world have not changed since the report’s release, hoping that the revolts in the Arab world would be able to introduce real change in the way of life of Arab people.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “The lack of change can be attributed to a lack of developmental and economic policies in the Arab world.”

The cabinet is not expected to make new appointments to state positions this week amid a dispute inside the government over Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun’s insistence to give the majority of Christian shares to his parliamentary Change and Reform bloc.

Ministerial sources told several Beirut dailies that the appointments are not on the agenda of the cabinet that is scheduled to meet on Wednesday. But ministers could raise the issue if ongoing consultations lead to an agreement on the name of the president of the Higher Judicial Council.

Sources close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri denied that he would hold meetings with Lebanese officials in France.

In remarks to An Nahar daily Sunday, the sources said that Hariri is currently in Riyadh.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, who is expected to arrive in Paris on Saturday, might hold talks with former Premier Saad Hariri, media reports said.

A March 14 leader told al-Joumhouria newspaper that a series of meetings could be held among opposition members on the sidelines of the wedding of former Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh’s daughter to discuss the local developments and the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat reiterated on Friday that he has advised the Syrian leadership to quickly implement reforms rather than cracking down on protestors.

In remarks to As Safir daily, he said: “The Syrian regime should adopt qualitative and urgent reform steps.”

Former Premier Saad Hariri could meet with Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat as part of meetings between Lebanese officials, informed political sources said.

The sources told An Nahar daily on Thursday that meetings between Lebanese leaders and politicians could take place on the sidelines of a social occasion in Paris.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has been holding meetings with a number of high-ranking March 14 officials, during which his views have coincided with theirs, reported the Central News Agency on Wednesday.

Sources told the agency that the last of these meetings was held at the residence of one of these figures and it stressed the importance of adhering to centrism during the current phase the country is going through.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has struck a 25-million-dollar oil deal with the leaders of Libya's new ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), Ad-Diyar daily reported Wednesday.

The newspaper said the first phase of the deal involves the immediate payment of 7 million dollars.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has unveiled that he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad twice in the past few days advising him to resort to a political solution to his country’s crisis.

Jumblat told al-Haqiqa talk show on Egypt’s Dream One TV aired Monday that he advised Assad to resolve the crisis in all ways except for “blood” because a bloody crackdown on protestors would lead to a regime collapse.