DAILY SCOPE: Lebanese Presidency Initiative Frozen, Stalemate Unresolved Before Holidays

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The nomination of MP Suleiman Franjieh for presidency and its repercussions remain to be the focus of Lebanese dailies on Wednesday. Lebanese officials have succeeded in stopping the war of words launched by their supporters but have failed themselves to come to a decision on the matter. Well-informed sources followed up on the case, stressing that the vacuum will remain until after the holidays. Meanwhile, Bkirki is trying to bring the Christian parties together in an attempt to end the deadlock in the country.

Newspapers also discussed other domestic and regional matters, following up on the war in Yemen and Syria.

AL-JOMHOURIA: Lebanese Presidency Initiative Frozen, Stalemate Unresolved Before Holidays

Ecclesiastical Bkirki sources told al-Jomhouria newspaper that the presidential settlement has been frozen for the moment, saying "the equation is very simple; if things were actually in progress according to claims of those assuming the initiative, Franjieh would have been president by now. But this initiative was faced by strong opposition from the Christian parties in Lebanon, not to mention that the initiative also did not include any guarantees to the electoral law, which is an essential matter that concerns all the Christians."

The sources also added that the "Maronite patriarchy has been following up on the matter closely, and is trying to set up a meeting between the four Christian Maronite parties to resolve it, yet it has failed to do that so far."

The source also underscored that the stances of various Christian blocs that oppose the nomination of Marada Movement chief Franjieh as president have thwarted the adoption of a political settlement in Lebanon.

On another note, the Lebanese newspaper quoted head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea as saying that "the recently proposed political settlement has reached a dead-end due to a number of factors."

Lebanese Forces sources told al-Jomhouria that Geagea has expressed his satisfaction over the dead-end reached in the attempt to elect Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh as president.

Also, well-informed sources told the paper that an agreement has been reached between the Lebanese Forces and the Future party without any communication happening between the parties' chiefs Hariri and Geagea. It said that the agreement stated that Hariri freezes his initiative on nominating Franjieh for presidency while Geagea stops his moves that might lead to the nomination of Free Patriotic movement Head Michel Aoun instead.

Given the choice between Aoun and Franjieh, Geagea would pick the former, revealed LF MP Antoine Zahra in recent days.

As for the broader picture, Russian and Iranian officials addressed on Tuesday the ongoing political deadlock in Lebanon on the margins of contacts aimed at tackling the various regional conflicts, said the paper. Russian sources told al-Jomhouria that deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdul Lahyan discussed the Lebanese file during a brief telephone call.

Lahyan told Bogdanov that "the presidential settlement in Lebanon is not ripe yet and for a solution to see light Lebanon needs more time."

For his part, the Russian official stressed the need to resolve the presidential vacuum, but he did not discuss the details, said al-Joumhouria.

AN-NAHAR: Waste Crisis Discussed in Cabinet Soon

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam is expected to call cabinet to convene soon in order to tackle the unending waste management crisis, reported An-Nahar daily on Wednesday.

According to ministerial sources, the premier will call the government to convene "within days", further elaborating that officials have reached the final stage in discussing a solution to end the pending crisis.

Also, media reports said last week that the final touches to exporting the waste are being discussed and set in place, while different technical details are also being tackled.

Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb had stated recently that he is optimistic on resolving the problem. It is worth mentioning that politicians have failed to find a solution since July and the country has suffered from the pile up of garbage in various regions.

The waste management crisis erupted on July 17 following the closure of the Naameh landfill south of Beirut, which had been receiving trash from the capital and Mount Lebanon since 1997. The landfill was meant to operate for only a few years until a comprehensive solution was devised. But the government has so far failed to resolve the issue.

Sukleen; the main company in charge of collecting trash in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, stopped its work last week after it was no longer able to store waste at its facilities. Piles of trash filled the sidewalks and streets across Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

AL-AKHBAR: Saudi Arabia Fears US Lash, Makes Concessions in Yemen

Al-Akhbar newspaper said on Wednesday that the Saudi military failure in Yemen has forced it to accept political talks soon, especially following the US pressures that come from Saudi's failure to manage its military forces in face of the Yemeni army and the popular committees.

Well-informed source told al-Akhbar newspaper that Washington firmly told the Saudi Heir Mohammad Bin Salman that enough is enough, and that the US chance is over, asking him to pay attention to restructuring the Saudi army and its military dogma.

The source also stressed that Washington has expressed its dismay to the Saudi performance in the Yemeni war, feeling that the US military arsenal that was put at the service of Saudi Arabia has been humiliated by the Yemeni army.

On the backdrop of the US lash out, Saudi Arabia and away from the limelight, made direct contact with major Yemeni sides that are allies to ‘Ansarullah', presenting concessions even beyond what was suggested earlier.

Source: Al-Ahed News