Jumblat Hails Berri's Initiative and Call to Resume National Dialogue

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat hailed on Monday Speaker Nabih Berri's recent initiative to end the political deadlock in Lebanon, saying that he has long expressed his keenness on dialogue among the Lebanese.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “The PSP backs every call for dialogue because it will help prevent Lebanon from falling into the abyss.”

“The return to the national dialogue will help bolster the policy of disassociation and renew the call for all sides to withdraw from Syria, starting with the resistance that has turned its weapons away from Israel,” he remarked.

“The resistance's role should only be limited at the border as Berri had said and this will inevitably lead to the resumption of discussions over a comprehensive national defense strategy,” Jumblat stated.

Moreover, he advocated former Premier Saad Hariri's calls for the return to dialogue, whether a new government is formed or not.

The necessary conditions should be found to resume the all-party talks, he stressed.

“We must also not overlook constitutional institutions and marginalize the role of any new government, whose priorities should lie in controlling the security situation and overseeing the accumulating economic and social affairs,” he added.

On Saturday, Berri called for the resumption of national dialogue at Baabda palace for a period of at least five consecutive days to discuss the form and policy statement of the future cabinet, revive talks on a new electoral law, and support the military to deal with arms in the northern city of Tripoli and salvage the eastern Bekaa Valley and the northern border with Syria from the “chaos of arms and gunmen.”

The initiative also includes a call to address a national defense strategy, a thorny issue that hasn't been resolved in the past years over differences on Hizbullah's arms.