The following are summaries of today's major stories published in the Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content, giving English-language readers insight into the various views expressed in newspapers across the Arab world.
President Michel Sleiman expressed his keenness on keeping
Lebanon away from the repercussions of the Syrian crisis, in accordance with
the Baabda declaration, stressing that neutrality is the Lebanese policy sought
through the stances taken over the conferences held to discuss the Syrian
issue.
In a statement to
an-Nahar Daily, Sleiman said that Lebanon
does not dissociate itself from international conferences in which all the factions
take part, noting that dissociation will be expressed through the position taken regarding
the decisions issued following these conferences.
“Either we support these decisions or we do not, but the
third choice will be to dissociate ourselves as a choice to protect Lebanon,”
Sleiman explained.
An-Nahar Daily reported that, during the meeting held with
the UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, Speaker Nabih Berri stressed the need to
improve the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran in order to ameliorate the
conditions to hold the Geneva II peace conference, which is expected to reach a
solution to the Syrian crisis. Berri also stressed the need to invite Lebanese
to attend the conference and discuss the issue of the Syrian refugees.
In turn, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati told Brahimi
that Lebanon must attend the peace talks and any other conference aiming at
discussing Syria’s future, “since Lebanon is one of the most affected countries
by the war raging in neighboring Syria.”
Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel ruled out the
possibility of reaching a new proposal to an electoral draft law.
Commenting on the situation in the northern city of Tripoli,
Charbel revealed, in a statement to
as-Safir Newspaper, that the Lebanese Armed
Forces have not yet been able to access the region of Bab al-Tebbaneh, noting
that the army will take action in this regard when it deems the situation
appropriate.
In this context, Charbel said that the plan agreed upon
during the recent meeting held in Baabda includes two parts, one concerning
security and another related to development.
“The plan’s parts are related to one another, since development and
restoration works cannot kick off before restoring security and stability in
the region,” he explained.
However, Charbel stressed that the conflict in Tripoli “has
become controlled by foreign powers,” pointing out that there is no forces from
al-Nusra Front or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) operating in
Lebanon.
Military sources told
as-Safir Daily that the upcoming phase
will be more stable and safer in the city of Tripoli, as the security forces will
be firmer in dealing with those who breach security and the Lebanese army will
not hesitate in responding to any source of fire.
The sources added that the instructions issued in this regard
are clear and strict, and aim at restoring security and stability to the city.