Lebanon seeks Declaration on weapons

An adviser to President Michel Sleiman disclosed to Arabstoday, that the president has finished his consultations with all sides around the dialogue table, which was held " in a positive environment and with absolute confidentiality" adding that the final meeting was held on Thursday evening with the deputy head of the Future Party, Fouad Siniora, who met him twice. The official pointed out that President Sleiman reporting to a group of advisers he had gathered together to evaluate the results of his consultations held in secret, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of this broad round of consultations ahead of a meeting scheduled for next Monday. He noted that there are" many common denominators that can be built upon in seeking a defence strategy with which to move forward. The president of the Republic will present a paper at  next Monday's meeting which will form the basis of a "Declaration"  of a special defence strategy which members must then approve the content, similar to the  "Declaration of Baabda," which specifically highlights the neutrality of Lebanon, its refusal to create a "buffer zone" on the Syrian border and Lebanon’s right to stability and peace. In a related context, Hezbollah expressed its readiness to hold discussions about Hezbollah's weapons as part of the defence strategy at the dialogue meeting to be held next Monday at the Republican Palace. Head of Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP Mohammad Saad, confirmed that Hezbollah is on the verge of a positive dialogue in order to address concerns.  In an interview with the As-Safir newspaper the Hezbollah MP said:  "If there are priorities imposed by the tensions in some areas, discussing these priorities does not contradict with our discussions of a defence strategy", adding that he hoped that other parties will act to enable a positive dialogue with results which will be in the best interests of the country. Head of the Lebanese Forces party, Dr Samir Geagea, has confirmed that he will boycott the dialogue table and therefore will not attend Monday's meeting. The Christian parties yesterday held two important meetings: one with Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi and a delegation from March 14;  and one with the head of the Lebanese Phalange Party, Amin Gemayel, where they met around the  lunch table at Gemayel's home in Bikfaya along with Fouad Siniora, deputy speaker of parliament Farid Makari, MP George Adwan representing the head of the Lebanese Forces and MPs: Boutros Harb, Dory Chamoun, Michel Pharaon, Robert Ghanem, Sami Gemayel and head of the National Bloc Party, General Carlos Adah. Amin Gemayel opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and stressing the importance of consultations at this stage in order to bring to the dialogue table an atmosphere of coordination and understanding as the current stage cannot afford to make mistakes. Gemayel drew attention to Hezbollah and hoped that it would come to the dialogue table with a defence strategy regarding its illegal weapons as well as those possessed by Palestinians in the refugee camps. Participants agreed on the importance of giving dialogue a chance to prevent future attacks in Lebanon and to give hope to the Lebanese citizens that a national dialogue will achieve its aim to promoting the state’s authority throughout Lebanon.