DAILY SCOPE: Lebanon Cabinet to Convene Today, Thursday

Lebanese papers on Thursday focused on the reconvening of parliamentary sessions which were halted due to a mechanism crisis, in addition to the widening of the security plan to include Beirut and the Southern Suburbs [dahiyeh]. 

On the international level, Lebanese papers focused on the meeting between Iranian Foreing Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his American counterpart John Kerry to discuss the nuclear file and the lifting of sanctions off Iran.

The Lebanese Cabinet will hold a session Thursday designed to clear the air, following tension among ministers over the government's decision-making system that has prevented meetings for two weeks.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam told as-Safir newspaper that how effective the cabinet will be depends on the readiness of the political parties for that, if they all work accordingly with what they have learned during the previous period of time. 

The session is seen as a test of fragile Cabinet unity after Prime Minister Tammam Salam declared that approving decisions during the 9-month-old presidential vacuum should be based on consensus among the 24 ministers.

Ministerial sources said they expected Thursday's meeting to be a frank talk session during which ministers would uphold the agreement that had led to the resumption of the government's activity.

Meanwhile, the oil exploration file still makes the headlines of papers for the third consecutive day, with expectations that the suspended decrees on the oil file soon be released. According to as-Safir, Energy and Water Minister Arthur Nazarian and the Lebanese Petroleum Administration stressed Wednesday that any data resulting from geological surveys for the country's offshore gas and oil "has not been handed over to any side," refuting media reports.

This data "is the property of the Lebanese state, and the ministry and the administration are exerting efforts to maintain it and safeguard it in line with the applicable laws," Nazarian and the LPA said in a joint statement.
They clarified that the media reports contained information related to "the two-dimensional seismic survey that was conducted in 1993 in the area off the northern coast which stretches from Ras al-Shaqaa to the northern border with Syria."

"This data is in the possession of the Lebanese state (Ministry of Energy and Water) and it was not handed over to any side with the aim of copying it on modern hard disk drives or for analysis," the statement underlined.

However, it did not deny that an agreement was signed with Norway to "support the Lebanese institutions and build their capabilities in the issue of oil and gas, through the Ministry of Energy and Water, the Lebanese Petroleum Administration and some other relevant ministries."

This came in response to what as-Safir had revealed earlier on Wednesday. The daily had reported that some Lebanese officials were exerting efforts to hand over the data of a geological survey for the country's offshore gas and oil in the North to Norway's Petroleum Commission, noting that such a move could have hidden intentions such as drawing attention of new companies in an illegal manner to join Lebanon's tenders and take part in the exploration process of offshore oil and gas in return for financial gains or interests. 

Again on the ministerial file, al-Akhbar newspaper quoted ministerial sources as saying that the change related to the cabinet mechanism is in the manner through which the sessions will be managed. The sources further elaborated that ‘Prime Minister Salam will be more strict in managing the coming sessions, and being decisive in the discussions that would lead to the convening of the session for more than six hours sometimes.' 

‘No side will be allowed to impede the sessions anymore,' the source reported.

On the nuclear file, al-Liwaa quoted agencies that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers have ruffled the feathers of one aggressive and occupying regime, whose existence hinges on belligerence.

Speaking at a Cabinet session in Tehran on Wednesday, Rouhani stated that the Tel Aviv regime is constantly worried about the establishment of peace and stability in the Middle East, and Israeli authorities support the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front terrorist network regardless of all crimes the group is committing.

Those seeking a better future for the region and the world, should realize that there is no path to regional development and progress other than establishment of stability and security, President Rouhani said, adding that there is no solution to the nuclear issue except for dialogue.