Following a long period of political rift between the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and Hezbollah, a meeting on Thursday brought together the PSP head, Walid Jumblatt, and the political assistant to Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hajj Hussein Al-Khalil.
The two sides emphasized the need to put aside differences and to maintain dialogue in the next stage.
In comments following the meeting, which was held at Jumblatt’s residence in Beirut, the head of the PSP underlined the need for dialogue “to reach the minimum level of consensus on matters that serve the interests of the Lebanese people.
“There are points of contention between us that we have put aside,” he said.
For his part, Khalil described the meeting as “friendly and frank,” saying: “There was a common will to meet, based on the financial, economic and living conditions. We reviewed many internal matters of political, financial and social benefits.”
He added: “Perhaps there are major political headlines that we disagree about, but this does not mean that the Lebanese do not discuss major strategic points...”
The meeting, which brought together two archenemies in politics, comes a few weeks before the presidential elections and follows striking positions expressed by Jumblatt, who stated that a dialogue with Hezbollah and other components was necessary to build a strong state.
“I asked to meet with representatives of Hezbollah, in order to discuss some issues that have nothing to do with the presidency, for the sake of electricity, and for the establishment of a sovereign oil company…” he had said in earlier remarks.
