Report: Syria Freezes Ties with Jumblat as Hizbullah Accuses him of Shattering Cabinet
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat denied that he has asked to meet with Syria President Bashar Assad although informed sources said that Damascus froze its ties with the PSP chief.
In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Jumblat said he hasn’t asked for a meeting with Assad or Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Informed sources told al-Liwaa daily however that “Damascus has decided to freeze its relations with Jumblat over his latest stances from the developments in Syria.”
A high-ranking Syrian official has also informed a former PSP official, who continues to have ties with Jumblat, that he should cut his relations with the Druze leader.
The Syrian official also confirmed that Damascus has shut its doors at Jumblat, al-Liwaa said.
Meanwhile, ministerial sources told the newspaper that Nasrallah delegated Minister Mohammed Fneish and MP Ali Ammar to meet with Premier Najib Miqati on Tuesday night.
The two envoys told Miqati that Hizbullah is frustrated at Jumblat’s latest stances, mainly his statements on the Shiite party’s weapons. The PSP chief’s remarks are in violation of his commitments and the cabinet policy statement, they allegedly said.
Fneish and Ammar added that Jumblat was seeking to shatter the government.
Miqati informed Minister Wael Abou Faour, who is loyal to Jumblat, about Hizbullah’s frustration. But the minister, in his turn, visited Speaker Nabih Berri, who is Hizbullah’s ally, to express Jumblat’s regret at remarks made by former Minister Michel Samaha.
Samaha said that Jumblat and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman have resumed contacts. When the Druze leader was asked to comment, he quipped, saying: “I haven’t heard Samaha’s remarks and I think he knows about the issues of China better.”
Hizbullah has so far remained mum about Jumblat’s remarks on its arms and his rejection to link their fate to the liberation of remaining Israeli-occupied Lebanese territories.
As Safir daily said that Hizbullah is not seeking to engage in a media dispute with Jumblat.
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