Report: Suleiman to Postpone National Dialogue Again

President Michel Suleiman is expected to postpone again a national dialogue session set to be held in January to pave way for further efforts to bridge the differences between the March 8 majority coalition and the March 14 opposition, al-Liwaa daily reported on Friday.

The newspaper quoted informed sources as saying that Suleiman could postpone the all-party talks to early February after a similar postponement was made to January 7.

Lebanon plunged in a political crisis in October when the opposition announced its decision not to sit at the dialogue table with Hizbullah, and boycotted parliamentary activity after it blamed Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government on the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Wissam al-Hasan.

March 14 also called for the resignation of the cabinet and the formation of a neutral salvation government following al-Hasan's Oct. 19 killing in a car bomb explosion in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.

But Suleiman has insisted on calling for the all-party talks and bringing the rival March 8 and March 14 factions together as a starting point for the discussion of the government crisis.

During a visit on Tuesday to Our Lady of Balamand Monastery to congratulate newly-elected Greek Orthodox Patriarch Youhanna X, Suleiman confirmed that he still held onto his call for national dialogue.

The informed sources also told al-Liwaa that Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, who returned to Beirut from Paris on Wednesday night, will continue to exert efforts in backing the president's initiative along with his own proposal to bring rival leaders together.

Jumblat has launched his own initiative and a PSP delegation has toured the country's top leaders and officials to pave way for the resumption of dialogue.