DAILY SCOPE: Vatican Stresses Importance of Presidential Election, Iran Will Not Intervene

Local Editor

NEWSPAPERS' HEADLINES:

AS-SAFIR:

"Syrian Geneva" to Convene on Friday

Riyadh closes its doors permanently in face of Geagea

AN-NAHAR:

Ice Melting Off Political Forces Duality!

Vatican with President who Forms a Bridge for "Communication and Convergence"

AL-AKHBAR:

Ministerial Council Will Convene on Thursday to Issue Security Appointments

AL-BINAA:

Two Opposition Delegations in Geneva on Friday, Without Preconditions and Under Assad Government

Lebanese newspapers on Tuesday discussed the different domestic and regional topics, topped by the presidential void and the discussions going on in the Vatican on this matter. Also, newspapers followed up on the Syrian Geneva talks that are set to take place on Friday, as well as on the latest events in the Syrian and Yemeni wars.

AN-NAHAR-Tehran Will Not Intervene in Lebanese Affairs

Well-informed sources [following up on the expected visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the Vatican and then to Paris] told An-Nahar Lebanese daily that Iran is adherent to its decision in terms of not interfering in the Lebanese presidential elections.

"The Iranians will not be embarrassed if the French discuss the Lebanese presidential file, but the answer of President Rouhani is already known; that Tehran does not interfere in Lebanese domestic affairs, and that it is a matter the Lebanese should resolve themselves," the sources pointed out.

Rouhani traveled to Italy on Monday on his first visit to Europe since Tehran's nuclear deal with the West came into force this month. He is due at the Vatican on Tuesday.

Also, sources accompanying the Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai to the Vatican told An-Nahar that the Vatican insists a President should be elected as soon as possible, and "today before tomorrow", deeming the presidential void as a real threat not only to the Christians but also to all the Lebanese and the region.

As for the Vatican's opinion on the identity of the president, sources quoted it as saying "The president should be a bridge for communication and convergence between the sects".

The Patriarch on Thursday gave his blessing to any initiative aimed at resolving the presidential crisis but said the process should be "Lebanonized".

"We want a president who is made in Lebanon," al-Rahi said at Rafik Hariri International Airport before heading to Rome.

AL-JOMHOURIA - Vatican Urges Electing President for Lebanon

On the same note, al-Jomhouria newspaper on Tuesday said the Vatican expressed its satisfaction with the latest rapprochement between the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement, underscoring that the presidential vacuum puts the Christians of the country in danger.

"The meetings of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai in Rome have been positive," Maronite Bishop of Beirut Boulos Matar told the daily.

"The Vatican considers that the Christian reconciliation meeting, which took place in Maarab, helps the presidential elections," he said, adding that "The Vatican supports any reconciliation among the different Lebanese factions.

AL-AKHBAR-Kurds Leaning Towards Russia in Syrian War?

Meetings between the Russians and Kurds are underway, yet there has been no official agreement between the two sides to cooperate in the war against al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria, well-informed sources told al-Akhbar newspaper.

The cooperation, according to the source, is in the context of logistic cooperation and armament to the Kurds, as the Russians had already provided the Kurds with some arms last month.

But according to the source, there is no military presence for the Russians on the ground in Hasaka in North-eastern of Syria. Nevertheless, other sources stressed that the Kurds are adherent to their cooperation and coalition with the US, not to mention that the Kurds want the Russians to acknowledge them as an independent entity.

Meanwhile, the sources also told al-Akhbar daily that the Kurds asked the Russians to set up radars in the towns at the borders, particularly at the Ein Diwar area [the Syrian-Turkish-Iraqi triangle] to prevent Turkish planes from breaching the airspace of the region.

Turkey has refused to change its Syria policy, while at the same time piling pressure on the PKK by escalating the war in the Kurdish-majority southeast. The more the pressure grows, the higher the possibility of the PKK gravitating toward Russia.

Source: al-Ahed News