BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 16 (UPI) -- Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah told socialist leader Walid Jumblatt to prepare for a trip to Damascus to discuss bilateral relations.
Nasrallah said he spoke with leaders in Damascus about improving relations with Syrian critic Jumblatt. The Hezbollah leader told the socialist leader that Damascus was committed to "the best relations" with all political players in Lebanon and decided to "open a new page" in diplomacy.
Jumblatt, the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, in 2007 called Syrian President Bashar Assad a "dictator." Jumblatt broke off ties with Syria following the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese President Rafik Hariri.
Damascus is alleged to have played a role in the 1977 death of Jumblatt's father, Kamal, as well.
Jumblatt told al-Jazeera his comments "were indecent" and made out of anger.
Nasrallah said Assad would meet Jumblatt "during the visit he would pay to the Syrian capital at a date to be announced in the coming days," Hezbollah's al-Manar news station reports.
Jumblatt, for his part, said the period of Lebanese acrimony with Syria was "over" and the Nasrallah-led effort to restore ties was "good news."
Syrian influence loomed large in Lebanese affairs for decades. Both countries in 2009 exchanged ambassadors, however, as diplomatic ties improved.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to visit Damascus this year.
