Patriarch Rai hails President Sleiman's latest stances

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai urged on Monday Lebanese leaders to take President Michel Sleiman's speech on the Army Day speech as a basis "for  reconciliation talks among Lebanese leaders."

Rai also called on the Lebanese people, mainly civil society, “to put pressure on Lebanese leaders to find common ground pertaining to the political crisis.”

Patriarch Rai noted that solution resides in "empowering the Lebanese state through its  constitutional institutions and the loyalty of the people."

President Michel Sleiman delivered on Thursday a speech on the occasion of Army Day in which he criticized the involvement of the Lebanese Hezbollah group in the Syrian civil war in support of Assad's forces.

In his speech, Sleiman called for Hezbollah's weapons to be folded under that of the Lebanese army.

The group has a formidable weapons arsenal that rivals that of the national army.

Lebanon is deeply divided along sectarian lines and between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad.