Hezbollah backs Lebanese dialogue for way out of gridlock

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it “fully supports” high-level talks between politicians to try to find a way out of a political gridlock that has sparked the largest anti-government protests in years.

The powerful Shiite Muslim group says in a statement Monday that an initiative by Lebanon’s parliament speaker to bring politicians together presents a “serious opportunity” to address Lebanon’s problems.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday promised to call for dialogue in early September. The country’s other main factions also supported the call.

Hezbollah says it supports the protests sparked by a summer trash crisis, now calling for an end to Lebanon’s dysfunctional political system, based on sectarianism and patronage.

However the group, which has ministers inside the current government, has not joined the protests which are organized by civil society organizations.