Hariri: Circumstances Not Suitable for Meeting Nasrallah

Prime Minister Saad Hariri reiterated rejection of any illegal arms outside the State's control and pointed out that circumstances are not appropriate to hold a meeting with Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

“Our position as a political party is well-known. We constantly emphasize that we are against any weapons other than the army's and the Lebanese State,” Hariri said in an interview with the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram on Tuesday.

“This issue remains a subject of disagreement among the Lebanese. Unfortunately, it is an essential component of national division and a state weakness,” he added.

He pointed out that the aspiration to address the issue of Hizbullah's weapons should be “under the roof of the national dialogue, and the call for exclusivity of arms in the hands of the state and its legitimate military and security institutions.”

“There is no legitimacy for any weapon except for the Lebanese army and our security institutions. Any other weapons are subject to disagreement,” added the Premier.

Hariri remarked: “Dialogue continues with Hizbullah, although the (national dialogue) sessions are not being held in the same momentum as before because we are sitting for meetings constantly now during the cabinet meetings.”

“We are still on our position from the weapons of Hizbullah rejecting the existence of any arms outside the State institutions. They (Hizbullah) are continuing with their policy by intervening militarily in the Syrian crisis and their refusal to resolve the issue of weapons. What brings us now is the participation within the one government and consensus to reject sectarian strife between Sunnis and Shiites and the search for solutions to other issues and problems.”

To a question on whether a meeting between him and Nasrallah is currently possible, Hariri said: “I believe that the circumstances are inappropriate for such a meeting.”

On his relations with Saudi Arabia, Hariri assured that his good ties with the Kingdom were not in doubt “everybody knows how firm this relation is,” he said, adding that vising Riyadh is strictly linked to the agendas of the Lebanese and Saudi governments.