The former leader of the PSP Walid Joumblatt. (Credit: AFP )
BEIRUT — Druze leader and former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Walid Jumblatt, praised Qatar's "supportive positions toward Lebanon and its standing by its side in various circumstances and at all levels," during a meeting with Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, according to a statement released by PSP on X.
PSP leader Taymour Jumblatt, Walid Jumblatt's son, the Secretary of the PSP's parliamentary bloc Hadi Abou al-Hosn, and Shant Vartarian, consul at the Lebanese Embassy in Qatar, also attended the meeting.
The discussions focused on the latest developments in Lebanon and the wider region, as well as bilateral relations between the two countries.
According to the PSP statement, Jumblatt also praised “the role undertaken by the State of Qatar in reducing tensions in the region and working to find diplomatic solutions to crises."
Two days after the announcement of a supposed "cease-fire" agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel under U.S. auspices last Wednesday, Walid Jumblatt said that it is necessary to "define a clear final framework for the negotiations, warning against negotiations conducted "for the sake of negotiating, like the Oslo Accords, which could result in the loss of part of southern Lebanon’s heritage, history and population."
Qatar, which was targeted by Iranian attacks during the war between the U.S. and Iran, has been among the countries facilitating the negotiations between the two countries, despite not serving as the official mediator.
Qatar is also a member of the "five-nation group" on Lebanon, alongside the United States, France, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The group coordinates international diplomatic efforts to support Lebanese state institutions and advance political solutions, including ending institutional paralysis and implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
