President Michel Suleiman chaired on Monday a national dialogue session that stressed the importance of an agreement on a defense strategy given a rise in terrorist threats and amid a boycott by the majority of March 8 camp’s representatives and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea from the March 14 alliance.

 

Suleiman had invited the rival leaders for a new session of all-party talks at Baabda Palace to discuss the controversial issue of Hizbullah’s arsenal or the so-called national defense strategy. But Hizbullah representatives, Marada movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan, and MP Asaad Hardan, the head of the Syrian Social National Party announced the boycott.

 

Geagea, whose party had boycotted previous dialogue sessions, also did not attend Monday’s talks. A statement issued after the session said the conferees agreed to discuss the national defense strategy based on the vision proposed by Suleiman during a previous session. [Link]