The dialogue between Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and Hezbollah is making progress over a number of issues in the country.
Sources from the FPM said the talks are not only limited to the presidential elections but have covered the “building of the republic.”
Head of the FPM MP Gebran Bassil said: “There can be no election of a president without understanding and we are counting on intra-Lebanese dialogue to achieve this.”
“We hope the dialogue will continue and our invitation is always open,” he told a press conference after a meeting of the FPM political council.
He revealed that a “preliminary agreement” has been reached with Hezbollah over the “course of the adoption of a consensual” presidential candidate in return for “national demands.”
“We are still in the early stages of the dialogue with Hezbollah. We have made proposals and are awaiting their response,” he went on to say.
“What we have proposed with the party is not a deal, but political work that we have spoken about with all the Lebanese,” he added.
Hezbollah has described the return to dialogue with its Christian ally as positive. It did not comment further on the talks.
Reports have said that any agreement in the dialogue may pave the way for a meeting between Bassil and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The FPM sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the dialogue has reached a “serious phase and may only take a few days.”
“We are serious and hope the other party would be serious in responding to our proposals,” they added.
They revealed that the talks have addressed the Taif Accord and calls to implement it as a follow up to the document of presidential priorities that the FPM had previously submitted.
The FPM believes that their implementation will form the foundation of the republic ahead of the election of a president, they stated.
Any agreement with Hezbollah will be presented to the Lebanese people and culminate in a national agreement at parliament, they continued.
“At any rate, Hezbollah agreed to dialogue and this is a good thing given that other parties have dismissed even discussing the possibility of holding talks,” they remarked.
Meanwhile, parliament Speaker Nabih Berri – a Hezbollah ally – is unlikely to go ahead with the possible agreement between the party and FPM given his opposition to some of its points, such as “decentralization of financial affairs”.
Political analyst Qassem Kassir said: “Bassil often kicks off dialogue with ambitious conditions, but Hezbollah is definitely holding dialogue while keeping its other partners in mind” - namely Berri.
