On Thursday, the political assistant to the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hussein Khalil, revealed that "many internal issues were discussed with the head of the Progressive Socialist Party during this rich and frank meeting." Khalil stated after the Hezbollah delegation's meeting with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt in Klemensou, "There is a mutual desire between us and Jumblatt for this meeting." He added, "We discussed the political, financial, and economic challenges, and the meeting was exceptionally rich, friendly, and candid. This will not be the last, and we will continue in the coming days to follow up on these matters to serve Lebanon and the Lebanese citizen."
Khalil continued, "Fundamentally, there are political issues where we may disagree, and that’s Lebanon, but this does not prevent friendly relations and does not hinder the Lebanese parties from discussing issues together to reach solutions and outline strategic and fundamental political points." He further stated, "There are disagreements on major political points and issues, but there is common ground being discussed among the Lebanese to reach results that serve the citizen." Regarding the presidential election, he noted that "there is no doubt that discussions on this matter are open." He hoped that "we arrive at a stage where we can nominate a common presidential candidate, and hopefully starting today, there will be a difference."
Khalil pointed out that "there are viewpoints expressed by the chief candidly, and we take them into consideration." He said, "What unites us with Walid Bey differs from the deep strategic disagreement we have with the Lebanese Forces."
For his part, Jumblatt clarified that "the meeting was friendly and candid. We set aside the points of disagreement and discussed the issues that can be addressed jointly in the economy and development." Jumblatt indicated that "this dialogue will continue to reach a minimum consensus on basic matters that concern the citizen."
