NNA - Progressive Socialist Party leader, Walid Jumblatt, on Monday relayed heaps of praise on the fresh stance of former PM Saad Hariri, who has recently said he could sit next to Hezbollah in an all-inclusive Cabinet.


"I must laud the position of Saad Hariri at a time where Lebanon and the Arab region are facing a watershed," the Chouf lawmaker said in weekly remarks made to his party's al-Anbaa e-publication.



"Hariri proved that he was a statesman capable of putting the nation's best interest, stability, and civil peace before any other consideration. This is what reflects Hariri's deep understanding of the nature of the Lebanese [political] system," Jumblatt added.



Last week, the former Prime Minister told Reuters in The Hague, where he is attending the trial in absentia of four Hezbollah members charged with his father's killing, that he could share power with the rival party.



"We are trying to run the country with everyone, because we do not want to keep anyone outside," Hariri told the interview on Thursday after attending the opening session of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the UN-backed court probing his father's assassination in 2005.



Hariri's stance drew sharp rebuke among some of his supporters, who criticized his readiness to sit with Hezbollah.



Jumblatt, for his part, welcomed Hariri's openness, saying he has overcome difficulties to turn over a new leaf on the national level.


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