Berri Meets PSP, Hizbullah in Reconciliation Effort

Speaker Nabih Berri met Sunday afternoon with officials from Hizbullah and the Progressive Socialist Party in an attempt to mend ties between the parties.

The National News Agency said the Ain el-Tineh meeting was attended by the MPs Wael Abu Faour and Ghazi Aridi of the PSP and Hizbullah officials Hussein al-Khalil and Wafiq Safa.

Berri's advisor Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and the Speaker's aide Ahmed Baalbaki also attended the talks.

"The discussion session was frank, tackled all issues and will be continued with a positive spirit," Khalil said after the meeting.

"As for the Shebaa Farms, they are Lebanese, and this issue is totally undebatable," he added.

Ties had deteriorated between Hizbullah and the PSP in recent weeks after Industry Minister Abu Faour revoked a cement factory license issued by his predecessor Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hizbullah.

The factory in the Ain Dara area is owned by Pierre Fattoush, the brother of ex-MP Nicolas Fattoush.

Abu Faour has cited environmental concerns while PSP leader Walid Jumblat has warned that Syrian general Maher al-Assad is a partner in the factory.

Hizbullah was also infuriated after Jumblat argued that the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms are not Lebanese.