In response to Saudi Prince Salman's interview with the well-known journalist Thomas Friedman on Saturday, Democratic Gathering Chief said via Twitter: "I will comment on some of the points in the interview and allow myself to give some advice to ensure success, and thus remove the Kingdom from seclusion and conservatism."

"Prince Mohammed poses a sort of cultural revolution that brings the Kingdom back to what it was before 1979, and this is very important, to create a stream of Islamic moderation in it, away from conservatism and in a gesture of openness to all religions. The visit of Patriarch Al-Rahi is a good example, and I was told that an old church will re-open awaiting the construction of a new church," said Jumblatt.

However, he warned against hastiness in this respect, recalling herein the cultural revolution of China in the 1960s and the terrible damage it left, voicing his preference for a gradual opening up in paving the way for modernization.

The Democratic Gathering Chief continued to point out that "the challenges are enormous and the modernization of the Kingdom is an Islamic and Arab necessity, but this mission cannot be successful while the Yemen war is going on."

He added: "Today, and out of concern for the Kingdom and the Yemeni people, there has to be a reconciliation or compromise," noting that "there is no blemish or indignity in directly addressing the Islamic Republic to arrange for this settlement, away from personal attacks from here and there that can do no good."

"Peace and reconciliation must prevail between the two peoples,"stressed Jumblatt.

"Enough destruction and siege in Yemen, and enough human and material drain for the people of the Kingdom and the resources of the Kingdom...It is time to rebuild Yemen away from Ali Abdullah Saleh and Abdul-Hadi Mansour...Let the people of Yemen choose who they want...and your Highness can be the reformer and the big brother, as were your predecessors...It is very easy to launch the first bullet in war!" stated Jumblatt, addressing the Saudi Prince.

"The Kingdom's interest is more important than being used, God forbid, in a war by means, the result of which is selling arms and ammunition, false promises and depletion of the resources of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. These resources are required for real development in education and other areas," asserted Jumblatt.

"A minimum settlement with the Islamic Republic gives us in Lebanon more strength and determination to cooperate in implementing the self-dissociation policy and to bring Lebanon out of this predicament," he continued to emphasize, adding, "Saad Hariri did well by deciding to wait on the resignation."

"These are some observations I have allowed myself to share," said Jumblatt, noting that "after the cessation of war and media wars, there must be an Arab-Iranian dialogue to determine how to address the points of conflict and unify efforts to confront the Israeli settlement expansion on Arab and Islamic lands."

Jumblatt concluded by saying to the Saudi Prince: "As a joke, your war against corruption is no doubt a qualitative step, but rule by the sword of the law, and if the Lebanese authorities were to decide to follow in your footsteps, we may need twice as much space as the Ritz Carlton

Source: NNA