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.
Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Saturday that preparations to implement a security plan in Tripoli are underway, adding that ministry officials are holding various meetings to specify the number of Internal Security Forces’ members and Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers that will be deployed in the northern Lebanese city.
Minister Charbel told
Al-Akhbar newspaper that his statement at the northern Lebanese city was frank, stating that the security measures will be similar to those implemented in Beirut’s Dahiyeh region whereby security forces prevented the eruption of all armed manifestations.
On another note, Minister Charbel told
al-Joumhouria newspaper that he will be discussing with other officials the security situation in Tripoli, adding that the plan will not be comprehensive if security forces were not deployed in the city.
Head of the Future Bloc former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Saturday that the latest statement made by Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP Mohammad Raad overthrew everything related to House Speaker Nabih Berri’s dialogue initiative.
In response to a question related to Hezbollah’s adherence to the Baabda declaration and its withdrawal from Syria, Siniora told
Al-Liwaa newspaper that March 14 forces are holding talks with Speaker Berri as well as all other Lebanese factions; however, it is difficult to restore the relation with Hezbollah.
On another note, Siniora stressed the importance of holding the Presidential elections on their due date, refusing any void at the presidential level.
Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam said on Saturday that he did not yet reach a dead end regarding the formation of the cabinet, adding that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is ready to take any step that facilitates the formation of the government.
MP Salam added to
As-Safir newspaper that the Future Bloc did not ask him to form a de facto cabinet.
Salam also mentioned that March 14 forces were studying the 9-9-6 governmental formula proposed by MP Walid Jumblatt [9 minister for March 8, 9 minister for March 14, and 6 centralist ministers]; however, the latest speeches delivered by the Secretary General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP Mohammad Raad made these forces step back and reconsider Hezbollah's adherence to the Baabda Declaration and its withdrawal from Syria as conditions to the formation of the cabinet.
Prominent sources reported on Saturday that Lebanese President Michel Sleiman will meet during his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
The sources added that President Sleiman will also hold talks with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
The same sources told
Al-Liwaa newspaper that President Sleiman will discuss with Saudi officials bilateral relations between Lebanon and KSA, the regional situation including the Syrian crisis and the Geneva II peace conference, internal Lebanese issues, and the file of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.