Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that his powerful Iran-backed Shia movement is “open” to a French proposal for a new political pact for Lebanon.
His comments came a day before French President Emmanuel Macron was due in blast-hit Beirut for his second visit in less than four weeks to press for political reform and reconstruction in tandem with the start of political consultations to name a new Lebanese Premier. Western leaders have joined calls from Lebanese at home and abroad for deep-rooted political change after the explosion at Beirut port killed more than 180 people and laid to waste entire districts of the capital.
“On his latest visit to Lebanon, we heard a call from the French President for a new political pact in Lebanon... Today we are open to a constructive discussion in this regard,” Mr. Nasrallah said in a televised speech. “But we have one condition: this discussion should be carried out... with the will and consent of the various Lebanese factions.”
Mr. Nasrallah said his movement would be “cooperative” in the formation of a government capable of spearheading reform and reconstruction.
