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.
Future movement sources quoted former PM Saad Hariri as stressing the need to continue dialogue with Hezbollah, noting that the talks have yielded positive results, the most important being the easing of sectarian tensions in the country.
In this regard, member of the Future delegation at the dialogue, MP Samir al-Jisr told as-Safir newspaper that easing sectarian tensions is a religious and national duty, pointing out that both parties are well aware that they will not reach agreement over all their issues in a short period of time, but they will deploy efforts to reach minimum common grounds.
Al-Jisr said that discussing the issue of the presidential vacuum does not include reaching agreement over specific names, but understanding over the criteria that will be the base to any settlement reached in a bid to end vacuum and reorganize the work of the constitutional institutions.
Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb told an-Nahar daily that the appointment of new leaderships, such as that of the post of Lebanese army chief, must be done in the presence of a president.
In this context, he said that a new army commander cannot be appointed without the approval of the country's head of state, since it is related to security.
Ministerial sources told al-Mustaqbal newspaper that the Kataeb party is opposing any change in the work mechanism of the cabinet, rejecting all the proposals that have been put on the table for discussion.
According to the sources, the party justified its position by saying that the presidential vacuum must remain evident in the management of the governmental work, stressing that organizing the work of the cabinet cannot be done in the absence of a head of state.
Sources speculated that a meeting between the head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri may take place within the upcoming hours.
According to al-Akhbar daily, Minister Gebran Bassil and Hariri’s adviser have been holding contacts in order to set up a meeting, which is expected to confirm the “positive communication” between the two parties.