Saniora: Nasrallah's Remarks Step in Right Direction

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora praised the recent positions made by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on reaching a political settlement in Lebanon, reported As Safir newspaper on Monday.

He told the daily: “His remarks are a step in the right direction and reflect a desire to reach a settlement.”

“This however demands discussions and we hope to achieve it in the ongoing dialogue between the Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah,” he said.

Nasrallah on Saturday had called for reaching a “comprehensive” settlement in Lebanon, saying that officials should take advantage of the “positive political atmosphere” that was reached after last week's legislative session.

“We have long said that we are one people and we have no choice but to live together,” Saniora continued.

“We therefore have been and still are keen on continuing the dialogue with Hizbullah even though it has not yet achieved anything important as we were hoping regarding the election of a new president and easing sectarian tensions,” noted the former premier.

He stressed the importance of kicking off the solution to the political deadlock in Lebanon by first electing a new head of state, “which is key to solving other disputes.”

“Any progress in the election of a president will pave new roads in the dialogue,” he explained.

“We therefore need to build trust on the ground in order to turn theoretical positives into tangible ones,” Saniora stated.

“Those who possess weapons are the most capable of taking such steps,” he remarked in reference to Hizbullah.

The Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah had kicked off dialogue last year under the sponsorship of Speaker Nabih Berri.

They were supposed to hold a session last week, but it has been postponed indefinitely due to the legislative session.