Press Digest for Sunday March 02, 2014

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.

• Sleimen will not seek dispute with any party - Sources

Sources from the Baabda Presidential Palace stressed that President Michel Sleiman would not seek dispute with any Lebanese party, noting that his tweet, which he posted after Hezbollah issued a statement as a response to his speech at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, comes to stress his principled stance over the Baabda Declaration.

The sources told al-Mustaqbal daily that President Sleiman aimed through his speech to “push all the concerned parties to finalize the ministerial statement in order to resolve the pending issues.”

On the other hand, the same sources said that it is still too early to speak of a change in the relation between the president and Hezbollah, stressing that contact between them is still ongoing.  

• Houry: Hezbollah insulted the status of the presidency

Member of the Future bloc MP Ammar Houry said that Hezbollah expressed an unprecedented insult to the status of the presidency that represents all the Lebanese people.

In a statement to al-Mustaqbal Newspaper, Houry said that everyone has the right to have political differences with the president, but no one has the right to insult him, stressing that President Michel Sleiman discussed only national principles.  

• Al-Machnouq: Discussions over ministerial statement will be difficult following the recent escalation

Interior and Municipalities Minister Nouhad al-Machnouq told an-Nahar Newspaper that the discussions of the ministerial statement drafting committee will be difficult, “especially following the escalation witnessed on Saturday,” stressing that the ministerial statement must constitute a step forward towards the defense strategy.

“It is still too early to judge Monday’s session of the ministerial statement committee,” he said, adding that there is enough time to deal with the issue.