Berri Says Hizbullah-Mustaqbal Dialogue Possibly Next Week
Speaker Nabih Berri has said that a meeting held on Thursday between his aide and al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri's adviser could be the last before the much anticipated dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal.
Local dailies published on Friday quoted Berri as telling his visitors that the talks between his aide Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Nader Hariri to agree on the agenda of the dialogue could be the last one.
The dialogue's first session could be held next week if a final agreement was reached on the agenda, said Berri.
The speaker reiterated that the talks will focus on all issues that the two parties could reach agreement on and avoid controversial topics, such as Hizbullah's arsenal and its involvement in Syria's civil war.
Asked whether the presidential deadlock would be on the agenda of the talks, Berri replied: “Yes it will, like the rest of other major issues such as the new electoral law.”
Lebanon has been without a president for the past six months because the rival March 8 and March 14 alliances have been unable to agree on a compromise candidate.
President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended on May 25.
On the meetings held by a parliamentary committee to agree on the electoral draft-law, the speaker said the MPs have specified the controversial clauses in the hybrid draft-law, which combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems.
The committee wraps up its work by the end of December. If lawmakers failed to agree on the law by that time, then Berri would call for parliamentary sessions to deliberate on all electoral law proposals.
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