Areslan: Security concerns delayed meetings between Nasrallah and Jumblatt, Hariri
Source: Nowlebanon.com, 11-10-2008
Youth and Sports Minister Talal Areslan said that the situation in Lebanon was improving due to efforts to begin a new phase following the May events.
In an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station on Saturday, Areslan said that Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's meeting with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt or Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri were delayed for security reasons related to Sayyed Nasrallah.
Areslan added that if Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh did not want to reconcile with Lebanese Forces Executive Council leader Samir Geagea, he would not have proposed it.
Also, in an interview with NOW Lebanon, Areslan on Friday said he expected a meeting between Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt and the Hizbullah leadership, mediated by Arlsan's Democratic Party in Khaldeh, in the near future.
Areslan also confirmed that talks for the expected meeting between Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri had made progress.
Jumblatt, he added, was "courageous" in his convictions and "firm steps," and "convinced with what he did in May and continues to do with the Democratic Party and Hizbullah."
Areslan said his alliance with General Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah was unwavering. Any talks he was involved in facilitating would join the Democratic Party, Hizbullah and the PSP, he added.
And on whether he and Jumblatt had agreed on sharing electoral seats in the Chouf and Aley, Areslan said the two had "not discussed the topic." They had, however, discussed the Democratic Party's its alliance with the FPM and Hizbullah in all districts in which his party had a stronghold in the 2009 elections, especially Hasbaya, the Chouf, Aley, the Metn, Baabda, and Rashaya.
And on the relationship between Aoun and Syria, Areslan said the Syrians harbored "all respect and appreciation" for the MP as he was "clear in his policies."
The minister said he did not foresee the return of a Syrian military presence to Lebanon. "Syria has been threatened and targeted for long, for several reasons," he said, "but I personally do not fear for Syria, as it is a country with its regime" that was "active at the regional and international levels."
Lebanese-Syrian relations, Areslan added, would be based on the principles of diplomatic exchanges. "There remains the question of timing," he said, adding that "all things are moving as agreed on with President Michel Suleiman during his recent visit to Syria."
Areslan also said he continued to call for the expansion of national dialogue, which he described "lame and incomplete because it does not represent all Lebanese factions."
And on the investigations into the assassination of Sheikh Saleh al-Aridi, a supporter of Areslan who was killed by a car bomb on September 10, 2008, the minister said, he had no concrete data on the investigation, "but we hope to get results."
Youth and Sports Minister Talal Areslan said that the situation in Lebanon was improving due to efforts to begin a new phase following the May events.
In an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station on Saturday, Areslan said that Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's meeting with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt or Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri were delayed for security reasons related to Sayyed Nasrallah.
Areslan added that if Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh did not want to reconcile with Lebanese Forces Executive Council leader Samir Geagea, he would not have proposed it.
Also, in an interview with NOW Lebanon, Areslan on Friday said he expected a meeting between Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt and the Hizbullah leadership, mediated by Arlsan's Democratic Party in Khaldeh, in the near future.
Areslan also confirmed that talks for the expected meeting between Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri had made progress.
Jumblatt, he added, was "courageous" in his convictions and "firm steps," and "convinced with what he did in May and continues to do with the Democratic Party and Hizbullah."
Areslan said his alliance with General Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah was unwavering. Any talks he was involved in facilitating would join the Democratic Party, Hizbullah and the PSP, he added.
And on whether he and Jumblatt had agreed on sharing electoral seats in the Chouf and Aley, Areslan said the two had "not discussed the topic." They had, however, discussed the Democratic Party's its alliance with the FPM and Hizbullah in all districts in which his party had a stronghold in the 2009 elections, especially Hasbaya, the Chouf, Aley, the Metn, Baabda, and Rashaya.
And on the relationship between Aoun and Syria, Areslan said the Syrians harbored "all respect and appreciation" for the MP as he was "clear in his policies."
The minister said he did not foresee the return of a Syrian military presence to Lebanon. "Syria has been threatened and targeted for long, for several reasons," he said, "but I personally do not fear for Syria, as it is a country with its regime" that was "active at the regional and international levels."
Lebanese-Syrian relations, Areslan added, would be based on the principles of diplomatic exchanges. "There remains the question of timing," he said, adding that "all things are moving as agreed on with President Michel Suleiman during his recent visit to Syria."
Areslan also said he continued to call for the expansion of national dialogue, which he described "lame and incomplete because it does not represent all Lebanese factions."
And on the investigations into the assassination of Sheikh Saleh al-Aridi, a supporter of Areslan who was killed by a car bomb on September 10, 2008, the minister said, he had no concrete data on the investigation, "but we hope to get results."
