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| 03/07/2008 While Lebanon prepares to receive its liberated detainees within two weeks, consultations over the cabinet formation continue in a bid to reach a consensus that would put an end to the ongoing crisis and pave the way for a national-unity government to see light as soon as possible.
In this context, the talks between Prime Minister-Designate Fouad Saniora and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) returned to light on Wednesday, when the FPM political relations official Gebran Bassil paid a visit to Saniora at the Grand Serail.
Media reports described the meeting as positive and said the two politicians discussed fresh ideas. Moreover, member of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan told Lebanese daily the Daily Star that the discussions between Saniora and Bassil could yield positive results if met with commitment on the part of the PM-Designate.
AOUN: EVERYTHING IS RECORDED IN MINUTES OF MEETINGS!
But the head of the bloc MP Michel Aoun reiterated on Thursday his refusal to the loyalty bloc policy towards the cabinet crisis, saying that the "distribution of basic portfolios game" aimed at avoiding the need to give Christians a basic one.
"In Doha, Lebanese factions had agreed on granting the president a basic portfolio, namely the Interior Ministry, and distributing the remainder equally between loyalty and opposition blocs and make the Justice Ministry another sovereign portfolio," Aoun explained.
Speaking to the Arab Magazine weekly, the General denied the existence of paper signed by the Arab League that legitimized a fifth sovereign portfolio. "What happened was merely talk, and it is recorded in the minutes of the meetings," he told the Arab Magazine weekly.
SULEIMAN CALLS QATARI EMIR, RECEIVES HEZBOLLAH DELEGATION
Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman contacted Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and discussed with him the latest developments with respect to the formation of the new cabinet.
Suleiman also met on Wednesday with a Hezbollah delegation headed by Hajj Hussein Khalil, Hezbollah Secretary General's political aide. The meeting addressed the ongoing consultations to form the new cabinet.
Khalil said after the meeting that the delegation agreed with Sleiman on two points; speeding up but not rushing the formation of the new cabinet, and urging the relevant parties to contact each other directly instead of using mediators. "Direct contacts will yield better results when it comes to forming the new cabinet," Khalil added.
SFEIR SLAMS POLITICIANS FOR DEMANDING BIG CABINET SHARES
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Thursday criticized political leaders for demanding the biggest possible cabinet shares, saying this does not reflect "a genuine national spirit."
Sfeir also called for a speedy formation of the government, saying "people can no longer stand the delay."
"The holdup in the cabinet line-up is not a good sign," Sfeir said in a radio interview.
He said he will keep praying to God to enlighten the minds of Lebanese officials "so things could go back to normal and people would stop emigrating from Lebanon out of despair."
Sfeir also hailed the release of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israeli jails, reading in it "evidence to the beginning of an understanding so that people can live in peace and reconciliation can prevail over all states."
MUBARAK, JORDAN'S ABDULLAH FOR SPEEDY CABINET FORMATION
Meanwhile, Lebanon continues to be on the top of the international agenda. In this context, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II urged Lebanese politicians to commit to the full implementation of the Doha accord which ended Lebanon's political crisis.
The two leaders "are looking forward to see the full implementation of the Doha accord and the formation of a government soon," Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said after the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday. | 
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