LF say won't attend Swiss Embassy dinner, 'dialogue with Hezbollah useless'

The Lebanese Forces party has said that it will not attend a dinner banquet that will be held Tuesday between Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon Marion Weichelt Krupski and representatives of the Lebanese political parties.

Al-Jadeed TV had reported that the meeting is aimed at preparing for a dialogue conference that will be held in Geneva, noting that the conference will involve several “official sessions.”

"We are not considering a national dialogue at the moment, but we are rather focused on the presidential election," the LF said in a statement.

The statement added that a dialogue with Hezbollah is "useless" as long as the latter insists on infringing the constitution and the state.

The statement went on to say that the LF would only participate in a dialogue that would not divert attention away from a juncture of major importance like the presidential election and that "any dialogue must be preceded by a worksheet that abides by the constitution, the Taif Agreement, and the Lebanese principles."