“My inappropriate and illogical statements about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad came in a moment of anger and loss,” said Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt during an interview with Al-Jazeera television on Saturday. He voiced hope that Assad would move past the instance, in reference to the time following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Should Syria move past the moment of anger, Jumblatt said he would respond to an invitation from Damascus, however questioned whether Assad would turn the page.

The PSP leader voiced readiness to build a relationship with Damascus according to the Taif Accord and framework established with Assad, saying, “Following my father Kamal Jumblatt’s assassination in 1977, I said I would forgive but not forget; today, I say I forgive and forget.”

Two weeks after the assassination, “I was still calling on Lebanese to not engage in aggressive behavior against Syrians in Lebanon,” said Jumblatt.

This comes in reference to Al-Watan’s report on Wednesday that “Damascus tells Jumblatt that it will not forget his past offenses,” in a reference to “Jumblatt’s instigation against Syrian nationals in Lebanon, his call for Syria’s invasion and his attempts to mislead the investigation of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).”

Jumblatt commented on the Resistance, voicing his support and questioning whether Lebanon would be left alone in confronting regional threats. He reiterated his call for gradually integrating the Resistance into the state and Lebanese army, which he said requires certain “Arab, regional, and international conditions.” Until then, work should focus on strengthening Lebanon, he said.

“The grounds of confrontation have not changed,” he added, pointing to “an Israeli and US aggression in the region.”

He also said that the region’s situation was better in the past.

-NOW Lebanon