Saniora: Dialogue Table Appropriate Place to Address Pending Affairs

Head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora confirmed that the movement will be taking part in the dialogue with Hizbullah on Monday, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday.

He told the daily: “The dialogue table is the appropriate place to address pending issues, most notably sectarian tensions and the presidency.”

Consultations were held with movement leader MP Saad Hariri over the dialogue and he is leaning towards resuming the bilateral talks, added the former premier.

Speaker Nabih Berri has been sponsoring the talks between the rival parties.

The dialogue is scheduled for his Ain el-Tineh residence.

Speculation has been rife that the Mustaqbal-Hizbullah dialogue would be suspended in wake of the tensions between the two sides.

Tensions boiled over between them when Saudi Arabia and Iran severed ties a week ago after the kingdom executed prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc leader MP Mohammed Raad launched on Monday a scathing attack against Hariri, saying: “Those who are suffering from bankruptcy in their exile must not find a place to return to in Lebanon in order to rob the country once again.”

He also fired at Hariri's presidential initiative that involves nominating MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency, noting that “the issue is not about a person whom we would give the presidential post to without him having any powers to rule the country with.”

“All of the powers would be usurped by the person who is entrusted with preserving the interests of this kingdom or that state,” Raad added, referring to Hariri and Saudi Arabia.