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.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam said that he will continue his discussions with the political forces in order to find a solution for the cabinet impasse, noting that the results of his meetings will appear over the coming days.
In a statement to al-Hayat daily, Salam pointed out that “he supports the constitution, which prioritizes agreement,” noting that practicing democracy requires committing to the article 65 of the Constitution.
In this regard, Salam added that the country has been plunged in a state of presidential vacuum, making it imperative to reach agreement over all the issues, explaining that managing the state’s affairs amid this situation requires exceptional approaches.
Education Minister Elias Bou Saad said after meeting with Prime Minister Tammam Salam that the formula expected to be adopted during the cabinet sessions will not be written, but “if two components of the cabinet, such as the ministers of the Change and Reform bloc and the ministers of the Kataeb bloc opposed the decision at hand, then it will be rejected.”
“However, if one component opposed the matter under discussion, the cabinet may approve the decision,” he continued.
In a statement to al-Mustaqbal daily, Bou Saab noted that PM Salam never said that a consensus must be reached during the decision-making process, but he stressed the need to “work in a spirit of harmony between all the parties.”
Al-Hayat daily quoted sources close to the relatives of abducted soldiers as saying that the Qatari mediator will bring a list of names of 48 inmates at Roumieh prison, following efforts deployed in order to convince the kidnappers of the need to reveal the names prior to the implementation of the prisoner exchange deal, in order to be aware of the identity and situation of every inmate.
In this context, the sources expected that the negotiations conducted to convince the kidnappers to reduce the number of prisoners held at Syrian jails also included in the exchange deal, have succeeded.
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq told al-Mustaqbal stressed that following his discussions with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbass, he gave his instructions to the security forces in order to facilitate the entry of the Assyrians crossing from Syria into Lebanon to escape the massacres being committed against them.
In this regard, he explained that the cabinet’s decision to end the entry of Syrian refugees, includes an exception related to the humanitarian cases, noting that this exception applies to the Assyrians.