Fares Soeid, secretary of the ruling March 14 coalition, warned Sunday against the return of political assassinations and said Hizbullah was in favor of postponing national dialogue.
Soeid said Syria was seeking to distant itself from Iran, "an issue that could have repercussions in Lebanon."

"These assassinations, the first of which after the Doha Accord targeted Sheik Saleh Airidi, could be the beginning and could continue," Soeid said in an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station.

Soeid said Hizbullah is likely to block national dialogue by demanding broadening participation in the talks over the defense strategy.

"Hizbullah is expected to obstruct dialogue … for one aim -- not to tackle the issue of arms," he said.

Soeid said he believed Hizbullah does not want to discuss the issue of placing its weapons under the state's wings.

Hizbullah "has been trying to postpone dialogue until after the (2009) parliamentary elections to avoid debate over the issue of weapons so it can enter the elections with huge moral strength called adherence to weapons and government's failure to hold a dialogue with Hizbullah which would enable it to enter the elections with enormous power," Soeid said.

"How can we discuss the defense strategy when Resolution 1701 is the defense strategy – since it calls for full Lebanese army deployment over all Lebanese territory," he added.