Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Wednesday that his ties with the Hariri family date back to the days when slain former Premier Rafik Hariri was in power and they have continued to this day with his son and former PM Saad Hariri.

The PSP said in a statement: “Our common struggle and political relationship with the Hariri family transcend differences.”

Former prime minister Saad Hariri met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat in Paris on Tuesday and discussed with him the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, Hariri’s office said.

The meeting is the first between the two officials since the government of Hariri was toppled in December 2011 and the formation of a cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to hold a meeting soon with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat in Paris, An Nahar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The daily said that the first meeting between the two officials since the government of Hariri was toppled in December 2011 and the formation of a cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Miqati, is likely to be held on Tuesday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stated on Monday that the latest positions on Syria indicate that a regional and international conspiracy has been devised against the Syrian people.

He noted in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine the “suspicious American and Russian interests in Syria” as demonstrated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s remarks that the Syrian army will not withdraw from the cities and Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey’s refusal to impose a no-fly zone over Syria.

The Progressive Socialist Party on Friday staged a demonstration demanding the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali and the summoning of the Syrian officers who are “involved” in the case of former minister Michel Samaha.

Members of the party’s youth organization gathered at 7:00 p.m. at the Samir Kassir Garden in downtown Beirut under the slogan “In rejection of the massacres being committed against the Syrian people.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat mocked March 8 majority leaders for needing anti-depressant pills after U.N. Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman met with Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“What was the impact of Sayyed Khamenei’s meeting of Feltman on some March 8 members?” Jumblat wondered in remarks published in An Nahar daily on Friday.

Ties between Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Hizbullah have not been severed despite the recent criticism launched by the MP against the party and its weapons’ arsenal, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Wednesday.

Hizbullah sources told the newspaper that contacts between the two sides are ongoing, especially between Jumblat and party chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed that Lebanon will chair the Arab League Ministerial Council in September, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Wednesday.

He told the newspaper: “This opportunity comes once every 11 years and Lebanon must not miss it.”

Lebanon is set to chair the Arab League Ministerial Council next month amid unannounced divisions among top Lebanese officials on whether to back down from the mission, As Safir daily reported on Tuesday.

Presidential sources told the newspaper that pragmatic consultations are underway on whether Lebanon should preside the Council for a six-month period starting September 5.

Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblat stressed on Monday the importance of allowing the Lebanese state to control the country’s decision of war and peace.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “We have no doubt over the effectiveness of the resistance’s rockets in displacing hundreds of thousands of Israelis, but the Lebanese people have the right to wonder about their fate and future in case a regional war should erupt.”