Arab and international press focused on the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and president George W. Bush in the US.
On the Lebanese level, press focused on Lebanese army’s leader Michel Sulaiman’s call for political personalities to reconcile in addition to other issues.
An Event and a Regional Tendency
Arab official movements accelerate to solve hot issues in the area while the available information say that the US exerts condensed efforts to activate the Arab quartet that includes Egytp, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
An informed Arab diplomatic source stressed the existence of differences in stands especially on Palestinian and Lebanese level and among these four states. He attributes this to internal considerations related to each of these involved governments and to increasing difficulties that face Bush’s administration inside the US due to the approach of presidential election’s season which may result, according t analysts, in electing a democratic president that does not continue the method of Bush and the neocons.
The same source call for observing the different stands towards Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue and Lebanese dialogue and the heat of relations with Syria, and the Western capital’s attempts to normalize relations with Damascus and jumping over the negative climates that characterized relation with Damascus in the years that followed the occupation of Iraq, while some Arab states are still refusing to take serious stops in this direction.
Informed sources say that Saudi Arabia and Egypt are preparing a movement towards Damascus that may appear in the coming days.
An Event and a Lebanese Tendency
Political and press sources are still focusing on President Bush’s decision which targeted Lebanese personalities from the opposition and some Syrian leaders. The reactions to this decision which appeared until now, clearly stress the political aspect of this measure which lacks any practical effect due to the nature of the targeted persons.
Comments on this issue said that they reveal a paradox in the US democracy, while an opposition source said the first truth revealed by the decision is the size of deterioration in the ranks of the loyals their impotent authority, and that the US administration aims at giving a dose of strength to al-Siniora and his government.
The second truth is that this decision targets Lebanese political personalities and economic and political activities whose names are not mentioned in the list and who started to review their stands and approach the opposition. Bush’s measure is a warming to these Lebanese personalities and activities in order to curb their movement to the opposition, and consequently to affect the lebanese internal political balance through blackmailing economic and financial interests by indicating any political dealing with the opposition, after indictment any relations with Hizbullah became a judicial, banking and political rule in the US dealing with Lebanon.
Arab Press
Arab papers quoted Agence France Presse as saying that secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council announced that defense ministers, foreign ministers and head of intelligence in the council’s states will hold a joint meeting on Tuesday in Riyadh to discuss the deterioration of conditions in the area and its reflections on the Gulf States.
The Emirate paper Al-Khaleej said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insisted on translating his generosity with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas by transferring a part of the frozen money to the authority, stressing his support to Salam Fayyad’s government.
Jordanian papers said king Abdullah the second warned from the disastrous results of separating Gaza from the West Bank.
The Emirate paper Al-Khaleej said Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gül denied the truth of information about a secret agreement between Ankara and Washington signed on September 2003 and provides for Turkey’s abstaining from invading north Iraq in return of one billion dollars of US financial aid.
Al-Bayan said the development of events on Palestinian arena moves towards an internal conflict, while the occupation authorities try to divert attention form their violations against Palestinians.
The Emirate paper Al-Khaleej said in its editorial that Washington does not hide its strategy of domination and works to prevent the appearance of any competitors on world arena.
Lebanese Press
As-Safir quoted House Speaker Nabih Berri as saying that targeting the army and the UNIFIL means the state’s collapse.
Al-Akbar said the program for rebuilding Nahr al-Bared camp is an introduction to Palestinians’ settling.
International news agencies quoted a Palestinian source from al-Ansar league as saying that al-Sham soldiers group dissolved itself and no longer exists.
Arab and Lebanese press quoted leader of the Lebanese army Michel Sulaiman as saying the topic of resistance’s weapons should be discussed through dialogue and conciliation.
International press
International and Arab news agencies said the meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and President George Bush takes place in a warm atmosphere and has no official aspect despite the disputes between the tow countries on many issues.
The same press agencies said security forces in Britain were put in a state of alert after London and Glasgow aggressions.
The Israeli paper Haaretz said Hizubllah was the first target in the attack on the UNIFIL forces, pointing out that Fath al-Islam group is responsible for the attack.
The Israeli paper Haaretz said Israeli Prime Minister Olmert officially appointed minister of strategic affairs Avigdor Lieberman as responsible for what is known as the file of “aborting Iran’s nuclear program”.
Arab Satellite Stations interviews
Al-Jazeera
Program: News covering
Leader of Fatah movement in Lebanon colonel Muneer al-Muqdeh said there will be a solution for Nahr al-Bared problem in the near future based on deploying a Palestinian security force inside the camp.
Television Stations News in Lebanon
Al-Manar said citizens of Beirut’s southern suburb escaped a terrible disaster when bridge collapsed on the martyr Hadi Nasrallah highway a few hours after its installation.
The LBC said military and security files are boiling, while political files face an intricate crisis.
The NBN said the internal stands did not change.
Television Stations Interviews in Lebanon
NTV
Program: The Week in an Hour
General Michel Aoun, head of the reform and change bloc in Lebanon vehemently criticized Fouad al-Siniora saying he classifies people here as Syrians, then he goes to Washington to ask support against his citizens who wish to help him pointing out that he reminded al-Siniora many times that the opposition is not outside the homeland.
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