"I have put the President in the picture of the outcome of discussions and things are advancing. Everyone wants to see a new cabinet as soon as possible," said Hariri following the talks.
Hariri said that good relations with FPM leader MP Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri are progressing and that the dialogue that happened in the previous weeks was for the sake of Lebanon. He added that the positive impacts will bear fruit soon.
Hariri stressed that it is in Lebanon's national interest to form a national unity government as soon as possible.
Regarding the inter Saudi - Syrian summit Hariri said : “We encourage intra-Arab rapprochement, especially Saudi-Syrian talks. Talks encourage positive atmosphere “and added : We as Lebanese should know that the talks in Damascus dealt with the whole region and not only Lebanon. The rapprochement benefits the Arab world in the face of Israeli threats.”
According to local media reports the general atmosphere indicates that ongoing political maneuvers have most likely entered the final stages.
The horse trading continues with regards to the interior and communications ministries . Aoun wants one of these and it is not clear if the president will be willing to give up the interior ministry or if Hariri is willing to allocate the communications ministry to a party that is opposed to privatization. It is well known that Hezbollah, Aoun’s key ally is opposed to privatization
Saturday
23:37 MTV quoting security sources : Explosion was heard in wadi el Selouqi in south Lebanon and the army has surrounded the area
11'00 pm Al Jazeera: A senior Palestinian official has accused Hamas of trying to derail unification efforts by insisting on conditions it knows would be impossible for the Fatah administration to meet.
8:55 pm The Arab League urged US President Barack Obama's administration to prevent US associations from raising funds in the US to finance Israeli settlements in annexed East Jerusalem.
20:35pm Minister Baroud told Future News: the delay in forming the cabinet could result in delays in municipal elections
8:14pm Wiam Wahab : Hariri is not going to wait forever to step down for the second time and his re-designation at that time will be impossible . The obstruction is because of the goldmine , "the communications ministry"
6:39pm President Michel Suleiman stressed during the Tripoli “Decentralization Conference in the Middle East “ on the need to form a cabinet of national unity that is not based on political shares, but on shares relating to the public’s and citizens’ interests.
5:50 pm French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will soon deliver to President Michel Suleiman and Lebanese officials a message about France's concern regarding the current Lebanese situation.
5 :14 pm Speaker Nabih Berri called for an open Arab-Iranian dialogue to address disputed issues and the interests of all parties.“Today, we must address the latest attempts to replace the Arab-Israeli conflict with an Arab-Iranian one and the efforts to create Sunni-Shia strife,” he said.
5:10 pm Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. Issam Abu Jamra stressed that giving the telecommunications ministry to a candidate appointed by President Michel Suleiman is not a solution that satisfies the ambitions of the Free Patriotic Movement
3:11pm PM-designate Saad Hariri said after meeting with President Michel Suleiman in Baabda: “The atmosphere is positive, and it is in Lebanon’s best interest to form the cabinet quickly”
2:50pm AFP: The UN nuclear watchdog will host talks between Russia, France, the United States and Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency's headquarters in Vienna on Monday.
2:15 pm President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday he would announce the date for Palestinian presidential and legislative elections on October 25.
1:55 pm PM-designate Saad Hariri meets with President Michel Sleiman at Baabda to discuss cabinet formation
12:45pm Following his talks with Hariri, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Sultanov voiced hope that a new government “that is based on a national consensus and dialogue, and that preserves the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” will be formed as soon as possible.
11:20 Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra told New TV Zahra: Despite the ongoing attempts to disregard the outcome of the parliamentary elections, the cabinet will be formed
11:15 AFP: Iraqi Police said that a suicide bomber blew up a truck on a bridge west of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, severely damaging the structure and halting traffic to Syria and Jordan. O casualties were reported
11:00 Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Sultanov met President Suleiman and left Baabda without making any statement
10:45 Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad told the Voice of Lebanon Antagonizing Syria negatively affects Lebanon’s stability.
10:35 MP Ahmad Fatfat says opposition is not serious about the formation of a national-unity cabinet
09:55 Kataeb bloc MP Fadi al-Haber the final decision on the cabinet formation lies with Syria and that the “maestro and the organizer” is Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.
09:50 MP Hadi Hobeish told Free Lebanon radio that president Suleiman should set a deadline for cabinet formation, and added the issue of appointing defeated candidates to ministerial posts is “not over ” yet
09:10 Caretaker Tourism Minister Elie Marouni said that only the majority is making concessions in the cabinet negotiations and the disruption is always coming from one side,” he said in reference to the opposition.
Friday
9:05pm FPM leader MP Michel Aoun is meeting with PM-designate Saad Hariri at the Center House to discuss cabinet formation developments.
8:44pm Hobeish says cabinet will not be formed soon if the opposition maintains its impossible demands
7:57pm Future News: PM-designate Saad Hariri will inform President Michel Suleiman of the outcome of his discussions with the various political sides before Suleiman visits Spain on Sunday.
7:35pm Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud: Bourj Hammoud incident is not political and we will pursue security disrupters.
5:40pm UNIFIL Spokesman Milos Struger: Lebanese Army and UNIFIL examined a site in Deir Qanoun al-Nahr village previously suspected of warehousing equipment transferred from Teir Felsay where the explosion took place Monday night
