Nasrallah, Aoun hold talks on need to maintain national dialogue

Source: Daily Star, 30-6-2006
BEIRUT: MP Michel Aoun and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah held a closed meeting after the dialogue session during which they discussed a political gathering to be held Friday at UNESCO.
The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) has invited former Premier Salim Hoss and Nasrallah to the gathering scheduled to be held Friday at the UNESCO Palace and described by FPM official Gebran Bassil as an attempt to "unite all reformist forces facing the prevailing corruption."
"No Lebanese party should monopolize the reform process and no Lebanese party can break the monopoly of the process alone," Bassil said after talks later in the day with Nasrallah.
"This is an opportunity for all reformists who believe in true change and in the project of a state of law to unite and face all projects of corruption and hegemony which led us this year to a deadlock," he added.
According to sources close to the issue, the meeting between Aoun and Nasrallah focused on the dialogue and the need to maintain it.
They said Aoun stressed his dedication to the dialogue, but also added he doesn`t believe it should continue in this manner because it "is causing serious stagnation in the country, especially on the economic front."
The sources added Nasrallah advised "the formation of a new, national unity government."
Aoun said after the meeting he would only visit Damascus if entrusted by Parliament or the dialogue conference to do so.
Asked whether he still believed the national dialogue had reached an impasse, Aoun said he believed so, because the dialogue agreements have not been implemented yet.
Asked about claims that he defended Syria in some of his statements, The FPM leader said: "Let them bring forward one statement proving that I did so."