Report: Berri convinced Hezbollah to take part in cabinet session

Hezbollah was not in favor of participation in Thursday’s cabinet session that approved the “objectives” of the U.S. paper, but Speaker Nabih Berri insisted that Hezbollah and the Amal Movement take part in the meeting, pro-Hezbollah newspaper al-Akhbar reported on Friday.

Berri argued that “the current period is very sensitive and we should deal positively and give full time for discussions and negotiation,” the daily said.

Al-Akhbar also quoted ministerial sources as saying that the Shiite Duo’s ministers said during Thursday’s session that “the paper requires thorough examination and discussion.”

“The government already took a very major and dangerous decision without knowing its repercussions and risks for the country, so how are you asking us today to also blindly support something without looking into it very well?” the ministers added, according to the sources.

The government on Tuesday took a historic decision to monopolize arms in the hands of the state before the year’s end and on Thursday it approved the objectives of U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s paper, which focuses on the disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed groups in the country.

The ministers of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement walked out of both sessions in protest.