Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said he wants talks with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir to discuss the resistance group's status in Lebanon's political life. Nasrallah said: "A meeting with Sfeir should be planned. It will be difficult for me to visit him in Bkirki for security reasons but we will surely decide on the place and date soon."Nasrallah, who also said the group didn't retain its arms for a "hobby", added: "We fought to free our land and will continue to fight to free our land. We are concerned with protecting our country, as are all Lebanese, against Israeli aggression." Sfeir, who returned from a trip to the United States where he met U.S. President George W. Bush, has called for Hizbullah to disarm and enter the political life. Speaking after his arrival at Beirut International Airport, Sfeir said: "We will not disarm Hizbullah by force. It is a move the party will decide on."
Nasrallah accused the U.S. of planning to split the Lebanese under the guise of wanting to help Lebanon regain its freedom and sovereignty. He said: "The United States contradicts itself when it says it is helping Lebanon to achieve freedom, sovereignty and independence because that's a lie, a deceitful notion, a slander." Alluding to U.S. support for Lebanon's political opposition, he added: "It is helping some Lebanese to pressure Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and is trying to offer some the upper hand over others and incite some against each other." Nasrallah reiterated his calls for dialogue and warned parliamentary elections, scheduled for May, will not be held if the opposition members keep refusing to join a national unity government.