Putin again warns Netanyahu hands off Syria

http://www.debka.com/article/22963/Putin-again-warns-Netanyahu-hands-off-Syria
DEBKAfile Special Report May 14, 2013/
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spent three hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Tuesday, May, 14. He came for a last-ditch attempt to head off the supply of advanced Russian anti-air S-300 missile systems to Syria. Instead, the Russian leader turned the conversation around to focus implicitly on Israel’s air strikes against Damascus on May 3 and May 5. After their conversation he issued a warning: "In this crucial period it is especially important to avoid any moves that can shake the situation."
This was clearly a hands-off caution to Israel not to repeat its attacks on Damascus. And, furthermore, after “shaking the situation” in Syria by its air attacks, Israel was in no position to demand that Russia avoid selling Syria advanced weapons.
The prime minister, for his part, warned that the entire Middle East was in a dangerous state of volatility.
He was accompanied by Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. Opposite him sat Mikhail Fradkov, SVR Director.
Kochavi laid before the Russian leader the information Israel had gathered on the state of Syria’s chemical weapons with relevance to their transfer to the Lebanese Hizballah.
Before Netanyahu’s arrival for the meeting, Moscow took two preparatory steps:
1. Russian diplomats leaked to the London-based Arab press a report that the S-300 missiles had already arrived in Syria. According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Moscow had delivered 200 launchers (probably missiles) and the Syrian missile teams already knew how to use them.
By this leak, the Israeli prime minister was being informed that his journey to Sochi was a waste of time and that the use of S-300 missiles for shooting down Israeli Air Force planes was no longer controlled by Moscow but by Damascus.
2. The prominent strategic analyst, Viktor Kremenyuk of The USA and Canada Institute in Moscow, reported Tuesday that Netanyahu arrived in Sochi to indirectly let Putin know that “Israel would destroy the S-300s when they are delivered and start being assembled.”
The deputy director of an important Russian think tank which advises the Kremlin on North American policy does not tend to make idle comments.
DEBKAfile’s Moscow sources interpreted Kremenyuk’s remark as a means of informing the Israeli leader that Moscow was not impressed by such threats. Instead of pushing Putin to stop the S-300 missiles, Israel would be more advantageously employed urging the Obama administration to adopt a more realistic stand on Syria and Bashar Assad.
In Moscow's view, Washington must be brought to give up its threat of Western military intervention in Syria, of which the Israeli air strikes appeared to Putin as the harbinger, and come to terms with Assad’s presence in any political solution of the Syrian conflict. These positions the Russian President had conveyed previously to US Secretary of State John Kerry and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. He made it clear to Netanyahu that he stood by them as firmly as ever. Therefore, say DEBKAfile’s sources, so long as both powers remain entrenched in their positions, there is not much hope of their coming together on an international conference to resolve the Syrian conflict. DEBKAfile’s military sources add: It is also unlikely that the Russian and Israeli leaders had a chance to work out reciprocal ground rules for the Russian officers supervising the S-300 missile operations in Syria to avoiding hitting Israeli Air Force jets or for Israeli bombers to refrain from destroying them. The S-300 is designed to shoot down planes and missiles at 200-km ranges.
Israel is concerned that Moscow may decided to send the six S-300 batteries carrying 144 missiles due for Syria along with Russian missile and air defense specialists. They will also be available for operating the missiles effectively for downing Israeli Air Force planes striking targets in Syria and Lebanon. Israel will be forced to think twice before attacking the S-300 batteries for fear of hitting the Russian officers. Putin is therefore placing a severe constraint on Israel’s operational freedom by spreading an anti-air missile cover over the Syrian, Hizballah and the Iranian Basij forces fighting for Bashar Assad.

Sources: Nasrallah’s speech disqualifies Hezbollah from Cabinet

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/May-15/217134-sources-nasrallahs-speech-disqualifies-hezbollah-from-cabinet.ashx#axzz2TKKaIXR1

By Antoine Ghattas Saab/ The Daily Star
Supporters listen to Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah as he speaks on a TV screen in Beirut's southern suburbs, Thursday, May 9, 2013. (The Daily Star/Hasan Shaaban)
Senior March 14 officials question who tasked Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah with the goal of liberating Syria’s Golan Heights from Israeli occupation, sources said.
The officials said such an undertaking violated the Baabda Declaration and the 1989 Taif Agreement and served to nullify Hezbollah’s right to be represented in the government of Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam.
The officials questioned Nasrallah’s decision to publicly announce his wider agenda, one that they said served regional interests and not those of the Lebanese.
They said Hezbollah should not take part in any Cabinet as long as its aims exceeded national ones.
The very same questions pertaining to Hezbollah’s motives were posed by European diplomats in Lebanon who consider Nasrallah’s recent stances as reacting against an agreement between Russia and the United States to share diplomatic influence and help push for an end to the Syrian war, a joint affair that effectively denies Iran a role.
The diplomats also said that an airstrike Israel carried out earlier this month targeting a Damascus suburb reflected Israel’s dissatisfaction with the Russian-American agreement as well. The airstrike was reportedly intended for arms bound for Hezbollah.
Sources told The Daily Star that a senior Western official had contacted a high-ranking Lebanese official, to ask for clarification over Nasrallah’s speech, which they believed contradicted Lebanon’s disassociation policy.
The Western official also conveyed to the Lebanese official the content of a report, which described buses full of Hezbollah fighters destined for Syria, prepared by his embassy in Lebanon.
The foreign official questioned the motives behind the inaction of the Lebanese state in controlling its borders to prevent arms smuggling and asked the Lebanese figure if he accepted Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria.
Separately, a European ambassador whose country has significant influence in Lebanon told a senior Lebanese diplomat during a meeting that his country and other Western states did not support extending Parliament’s term.
But the ambassador said that these countries, including his, would not be opposed to Parliament’s extension if it maintained stability.
The ambassador said that the international community was occupied with developments in Syria and had no time to engage Lebanese leaders on their internal disputes.
When asked about the prospects of a settlement in Syria, Iran or between Palestinians and Israelis, the envoy said:
“If you ask U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry himself, he will have no answer.”
But the ambassador added that the chance of finding a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was slim to none.
The ambassador added he was not optimistic about the outcome of a conference proposed by the U.S. and Russia to end the Syrian conflict.
He said the U.S. was trying to convince Russia of a gradual regime change in Syria by encouraging dialogue between representatives from the Syrian government and the opposition, to be followed by the formation of a transitional government.
The latter would, under the scheme, include figures with significant political leverage in the regime, which could pave the way for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.
The ambassador said that for such a solution to be implemented, Russia and Iran should first be convinced to support it, and wondered what they would demand in return for doing so.

Assad and the Brotherhood

http://www.aawsat.net/2013/05/article55301692

by : Tariq Alhomayed /Asharq Alawsat/Last Thursday, the Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Akhbar—an Assad regime and Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper—anonymously cited an official who stated that the Syrian president is ready to restore relations with the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, as the stance of the post-revolutionary Egyptian government has become closer to that of Iran.
In a way not new to the Assad regime and its allies, who push forward their ideas through affiliated media outlets, the newspaper quoted the official as saying that the regime welcomes Cairo’s decision to return to perform its regional role. The official claimed that Assad is ready to reopen “[diplomatic] venues with Egypt so as to restore normal relations [between the countries] and that Assad is giving Iran the green light to proceed in that direction, considering that such a step could blockade the Turkish role.” The anonymous official added that Tehran and Damascus seem to agree that Cairo “is extremely annoyed with the Turks and the Qataris, and is ready to seriously reconsider its past stances towards Iran and Syria. Moreover, the Egyptian leadership is ready to reconsider its domestic policy—namely, its relations with Al-Azhar and the opposition parties. Tehran is ready to play a role in this regard by providing the Brotherhood with all the expertise required for rebuilding the state.” In an attempt to explain himself, the Syrian official claimed that what makes this rapprochement possible is Egypt’s conviction that it deserves to be the leader of the region, and that “Iran is nothing but a Shi’ite minority compared to the Sunni majority. Thus, Egypt’s willingness to normalize relations with Iran stems from its conviction that Tehran will not deal with Cairo in an arrogant way, nor will it seek to hijack its role.” One might ask how can we take these statements, which come from an official the newspaper did not name, so seriously. How can we understand the Egyptian Brotherhood’s insistence that the solution in Syria necessarily requires the involvement of Iran, which contributes to Assad’s crimes by providing him with money, fighters and weapons? How can we understand the Iranian president’s repetitive and public statements about how Egypt and Iran regard the Syrian crisis the same way, with no Egyptian official explaining to us on what they agree and disgree? Besides, how does the Brotherhood stand on what Hezbollah is doing in Syria, specifically in Al-Qusayr? How does the Brotherhood view the statements Nasrallah made on Thursday, and particularly his announcement that he sides with Assad’s regime, considering his fighters who are killed in Syria as martyrs and the Syrian revolutionaries as Takfiris (apostates)? These are serious questions that require serious answers. If the Assad regime’s statements are hallucinations, the Brotherhood must provide answers to these questions so as to bring the dictator back to reality. It does not make any sense to criticize the US’s leniency when Assad declares his willingness to open up to Egypt. Besides, after Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people, the Egyptian Brotherhood’s position remains foggy. Is there really anyone who can answer these questions?

Future, Lebanese Forces agree on hybrid poll law
By Hasan Lakkis, Wassim Mroueh /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Forces and the Future Movement agreed on a hybrid electoral law Tuesday, in a bid to avert a split within the March 14 camp over the controversial Orthodox Gathering proposal, which is on the agenda for Wednesday’s Parliament session. But speaking to The Daily Star, sources from Kataeb voiced opposition to the districting scheme in the proposed electoral law, saying it was unfair to the party’s supporters.
Kataeb MP Fadi Haber said contacts were ongoing with the party’s March 14 allies to achieve consensus.
“MPs from our party decided to attend tomorrow’s [Wednesday’s] session. But if we agree with our March 14 allies on a hybrid law, then it will be a priority [over the Orthodox proposal],” he said.
The sources said caretaker Energy Minister Gebran Bassil met Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel and the party’s MP Sami Gemayel at Kataeb Headquarters in Beirut to urge the party to stick to its stance supporting the Orthodox proposal. Bassil is the son-in-law of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun.
Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour, from Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party, said his group backed the hybrid voting system that the Future Movement and the LF finally agreed on.
Lebanese Forces sources said contacts intensified over the past two days between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and LF leader Samir Geagea, leading to an agreement over a new hybrid electoral law.
Under the proposal, 45 percent of MPs would be elected on the basis of proportional representation and 55 percent under a winner-takes-all system.
The country would be divided into six governorates under the proportional representation system and 27 districts under the winner-takes-all scheme. MPs who attended a meeting of March 8 officials chaired by Speaker Nabih Berri said he would likely adjourn Wednesday’s Parliament session if Future Movement and PSP MPs did not attend – even if a quorum was achieved.
The MPs said Berri planned to begin consultations to reach consensus over the electoral law after the session. But the sources said that if an agreement was not viable, Berri could put the Orthodox proposal to a vote later on.
Berri urged all groups to assume their responsibilities, stressing that he would make the appropriate decision Wednesday in light of developments.
The LF sources said March 14 parties might announce their agreement on the draft hybrid law at a news conference at Parliament one hour before the session is slated to start. A March 14 delegation would then inform Berri about the accord. Speaking to a local media outlet, LF leader Samir Geagea hailed the agreement as “a great victory for fair representation and the spirit of consensus.”
But FPM leader Michel Aoun urged all parties who supported the Orthodox proposal to stick to it when it is put to a vote. He said the new hybrid law was merely “a masked 1960 law.”
The Future bloc said Tuesday that it would not attend Wednesday’s session, describing the Orthodox proposal as a crime against Lebanon.
“The Future bloc announces it will not participate in a session to approve a law that will divide Lebanon and take it back to the era of degeneration and sectarian divide,” the bloc said in a statement.
It also called on other MPs to follow suit and refrain from endorsing “the assassination of Lebanon.”
Referring to Berri’s move, the bloc said: “Insisting on proposing the Orthodox Gathering law as the sole item on the session’s agenda ... serves as a blow to the principle of coexistence and contradicts the Taif Accord as it paves the way for a crime to be committed against its people.” Berri’s behavior, the bloc said, went against the norm and the internal regulations of Parliament.
MP Akram Shehayeb, from the PSP, confirmed Tuesday after a meeting with caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel that his group would also boycott the Parliament session. “We refuse to approve in Parliament what the [Lebanese] Civil War failed to endorse,” Shehayeb said, referring to the Orthodox proposal. Batroun MP Butros Harb, representing independent Christians allied with the March 14 coalition, warned against “imposing the Orthodox Gathering law in Parliament” and said lawmakers were consulting with their March 14 allies on whether to carry out a boycott. Separately, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam discussed government formation efforts with President Michel Sleiman at Baabda Palace. – With additional reporting by Dana Khraiche

Hizbullah, PSP Ties Deteriorate as Abou Faour Meets Safa
Naharnet/The ties between Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Hizbullah has deteriorated over the controversial dispute over the formation of the cabinet, media reports said on Tuesday. Sources close to Jumblat told al-Liwaa newspaper that consultations are ongoing to reach common ground over the distribution of portfolios and to grant the March 8 alliance further guarantees over the matter.
According to As Safir newspaper, Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour, who is loyal to Jumblat, held talks on Monday night with Hizbullah Liaison and Coordination Officer Wafiq Safa. The newspaper pointed out that the meeting focused on the process of the cabinet formation.Abou Faour briefed Safa on his visit to Saudi Arabia and the importance of ending any confrontation over the matter.
The minister, however, insisted on the 24-member cabinet. Abou Faour pointed out on Monday after talks with Speaker Nabih Berri that Jumblat is keen “to maintain consultations with Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, President Michel Suleiman, and all sides to reach an agreement over a new government, which will help avert numerous repercussions.”Media reports had said that the minister was delegated by Jumblat to discuss the cabinet formation with Suleiman and Salam. Salam had repeatedly said that he advocates the formation of a 24-minister government that sees the equal distribution of portfolios between the March 8, March 14, and centrist camps, whereby each side would be granted eight ministers. However, the March 8 coalition had rejected this formula, demanding to attain the veto power in the government, which was totally rejected by Salam, who vowed to step down if any of the March 8 camp ministers resigned. Jumblat and Abou Faour returned to Beirut Sunday after meeting with former Premier Saad Hariri and Saudi officials in Jeddah.

Mustaqbal Urges MPs Not to 'Assassinate Lebanon': Hizbullah Wants Govt. that Legitimizes its Wars
Naharnet /Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday urged Lebanon's MPs not to take part in Wednesday's parliament session that has the controversial Orthodox Gathering draft electoral law as a sole item on its agenda, noting that Hizbullah wants any new cabinet to legitimize the “wars” it is fighting outside Lebanon. “Al-Mustaqbal bloc rejects and strongly condemns Speaker Nabih Berri's unilateral administration of parliament, which breaches all norms and bylaws, especially in terms of setting the agenda and administering parliamentary sessions,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.
On Monday, the parliament's bureau met in Ain el-Tineh to agree on the agenda of the sessions that Berri has called for starting Wednesday to approve a new electoral draft-law. But later in the day, the parliament's general-secretariat placed only the Orthodox Gathering proposal on the agenda, which prompted Mustaqbal, the National Struggle Front and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati to declare their boycott of the session.
"Insistence on placing the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal as a sole item on the session's agenda, without allowing the discussion of other proposals, will open the door to undermining Lebanon's foundations which are based on coexistence, renouncing the Taef Accord and committing an unforgivable crime against the country and its national unity,” the bloc added.
“Al-Mustaqbal bloc declares that it will not take part in a session aimed at approving a law that would fragment Lebanon and take it back to the age of decadence and sectarian and religious apartheid,” it said, urging “the lawmakers of the nation not to take part in a session aimed at approving the assassination of Lebanon and the destruction of its coexistence and future.”
Turning to the issue of the cabinet formation process, the bloc rejected “all the methods of intimidation and blackmail that are being used by Hizbullah and its cronies against Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam.”
“Hizbullah's obstruction of the formation of a cabinet that serves the interests of the Lebanese and restores confidence in the state and its institutions stems from this party's desire and need for a cabinet that bestows legitimacy on the wars it engages in outside the border and against the brotherly Syrian people,” the bloc charged.
It warned that Hizbullah's “adherence to its stance on the cabinet will drag the country into a spiral of vacuum,” saying the party “will bear the responsibility for the negative repercussions.”
Criticizing the remarks voiced on Thursday by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the bloc said Hizbullah's leader “announced that Hizbullah has turned into a mobile fighting force that receives orders from Iran and engages in the wars and crises of the region, which would further implicate Lebanon and the Lebanese in endless crises and major and grave threats.”
“Through his remarks, Sayyed Nasrallah is trying to tear apart the concept of the Lebanese nation and usurp Lebanon's constitutional institutions and role in the region and the world, in order to move to the concept of turning Lebanon into a military base and an open Iranian arena,” the bloc charged. On Thursday, Nasrallah said Syria will supply Hizbullah with "game-changing weapons," despite Israel's air strikes reportedly aimed at cutting off the flow of arms, and vowed to back “the Syrian popular resistance” in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
In a previous speech, Nasrallah said Hizbullah will not hesitate to help the Lebanese residents of the Syrian border area of Qusayr, stressing that “these people have the right to do everything to defend themselves and have the right to receive assistance." He also announced that Hizbullah is taking part in defending Shiite holy shrines in the Damascus province.
Al-Mustaqbal and its March 14 allies and the Syrian opposition have accused the party of fighting alongside the Syrian regime against Syrian rebels.

Obama's Assistant Meets Senior Officials, Condemns Hizbullah's Fighting in Syria
Naharnet /Special Assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and Gulf Region Philip Gordon expressed on Tuesday the United States’ grave concern about the situation in Syria and condemned continued shelling of Lebanese territory from Syria. He also condemned Hizbullah’s involvement in Syria, fighting on behalf of the regime Syrian President Bashar Assad, “which risks drawing Lebanon into the conflict and is counter to the Lebanese government’s policies.” He made his remarks during a visit to Lebanon during which he met with senior officials, including President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, United Nations High Commission for Refugees Lebanon Country Representative Ninette Kelley, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, and March 14 leaders. Gordon reiterated the United States’ support for the principles of the Baabda Declaration and Lebanon’s dissociation policy, calling on all parties in the region “to avoid any actions that would exacerbate the crisis in Syria, increase the propensity for spillover violence, and negatively affect civilian populations.”
He conveyed the United States’ “appreciation for ongoing efforts by responsible Lebanese leaders to preserve Lebanon’s stability and to fulfill its international obligations.”
He also expressed U.S. support for the extraordinary efforts exerted by Lebanese leaders to adhere to Lebanon’s legal and constitutional framework to hold timely parliamentary elections.
In his meetings, Gordon commended the Lebanese government and the generosity of the Lebanese people for hosting and supporting over 463,000 refugees from Syria who have fled the “brutal violence of the Syrian regime”. He welcomed the Lebanese government’s continued efforts to meet its humanitarian obligations to keep its borders open for refugees in need, provide protection, and work with the international community to provide assistance.
He underscored the United States’ continued commitment to Lebanon to provide assistance to refugees as well as support for Lebanese host communities. As part of this ongoing U.S. commitment, Gordon announced an additional $10 million in assistance for Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees in Lebanon. This assistance, which will be available after Congressional review, builds on the United States’ existing $83 million total assistance commitment in Lebanon for the Syria crisis. The United States urges all international donors to help Lebanon meet its obligations to the refugees. He renewed the United States’ commitment to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon

Intensified Contacts Precede Parliament Session, Geagea Says 'Full Victory' Achieved over Hybrid Law
Naharnet /The March 14 forces intensified their contacts on Tuesday in a bid to reach an agreement on a hybrid electoral law, as the Free Patriotic Movement called on the Christian political forces to confirm their commitment to the controversial Orthodox Gathering proposal. In remarks to MTV on the eve of Wednesday's key parliamentary session, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said “agreeing on a hybrid law would be a major triumph for both proper representation and the consensual spirit." “Had we secured (proper) representation without the consensual spirit, it would have been half a victory, and had we secured consensus without proper representation, it would have been half a defeat, but we have achieved a full victory in all aspects,” Geagea added. MTV said the agreement involves a hybrid law under which 55% of MPs would be elected according to the winner-takes-all system and 45% according to proportional representation. But it quoted Phalange Party sources as saying that the party is yet to approve the aforementioned agreement. Meanwhile, caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour told LBCI television that “the agreement between Mustaqbal and the LF on the hybrid law is based on a formula under which 69 MPs would be elected according to the winner-takes-all system and 59 according to proportional representation,” revealing that “this proposal has received the Progressive Socialist Party's approval.”  Several meetings were held on Tuesday, including one between Geagea and caretaker Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil in Maarab. Bassil also held talks in Saifi with Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel; MPs Sami Gemayel and Samer Saade; and Phalange officials Sejaan Qazzi and Shaker Aoun. He declined to make a statement after the talks. Earlier on Tuesday, the Phalange's Central House in Saifi witnessed a meeting between the party's officials and Mustaqbal bloc MP Ahmed Fatfat, who held talks hours earlier in the day with former premier Saad Hariri in Saudi Arabia.MTV said round-the-clock contacts were held between Geagea and Hariri on Tuesday and overnight Monday. The TV network also said LF bloc MP Antoine Zahra joined a meeting that was held at the Center House between ex-PM Fouad Saniora, head of the Mustaqbal bloc, and a number of lawmakers. Speaker Nabih Berri had placed the controversial Orthodox Gathering proposal as a sole item on the agenda of Wednesday's plenary parliamentary session, despite the objections of many parties.

Report: Hizbullah Fighters Advance to Syria-Jordan Border
Naharnet/Hizbullah fighters have been advancing swiftly into southern Syria and have reached the flashpoint southern town of Daraa near the border with Jordan, media reports said on Tuesday. A source close to Hizbullah told the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper that Hizbullah fighters played a significant role in helping the regime troops to take full power of the strategic town of Kherbet Ghazleh near the highway linking the capital Damascus with Jordan. The source pointed out that Hizbullah fighters are not just groups backing the army regime but comprehensive fighting units that includes a full logistic team. It said that Hizbullah's military leadership is organizing the transfer of the units and providing them with weapons. Last week, rebels withdrew from Khirbet Ghazaleh area after several days of fighting. Government forces conducted house-to-house searches Monday as troops reopened the highway, restoring the supply line between Damascus and the contested provincial capital of Daraa. Hizbullah Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged recently that members of his group are fighting inside Syria and suggested Iran and other states could intervene to support the Syrian regime against rebel fighters. The party, a staunch backer of Bashar Assad's regime, had announced several burials in past months, without elaborating on the circumstances of its members' deaths. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the opposition say the army is backed by elite fighters from Hizbullah. Hizbullah's involvement in Syria's spiraling conflict has been condemned by the Syrian opposition, which views it as a "declaration of war," and by the March 14 alliance in Lebanon. Since it began in March 2011, Syria's conflict has fueled local tensions between the communities in Lebanon, with bouts of street fighting and kidnappings.

Berri Describes Himself as 'Centrist,' Demands to be 'Cabinet Guarantee'
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Tuesday that he belongs to the centrists bloc more than President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.“If centrism applies to anyone then it's me... Ever since I presumed the tasks of the speaker, I tried to communicate with all parties and I have always sought to mend ties to achieve consensus,” Berri said in comments published in As Safir newspaper. He pointed out that he offered to be the guarantee for the new cabinet, vowing not to let any AMAL minister resign, demanding to have a minister in the centrist bloc. Salam had repeatedly said that he advocates the formation of a 24-minister government that sees the equal distribution of portfolios between the March 8, March 14, and centrist camps, whereby each side would be granted eight ministers. However, the March 8 coalition had rejected this formula, demanding to obtain the veto power in the government, which was totally rejected by Salam, who vowed to step down if any of the March 8 camp ministers resigned.
Berri said that the centrist camp would include three ministers for Jumblat, two for the president, two for the PM and one for the speaker. He pointed out that those who describe themselves as centrists are barely represented in the parliament but Salam is seeking to give them eight portfolios. “This is illogical,” Berri said. He lashed out at the 24-member cabinet, considering that it favors the March 14 coalition because Salam, despite the fact that he tries to be a centrist, support the alliance. Asked if Suleiman would ink a decree over the formation of a de facto cabinet, the speaker said: “he will.” Salam has warned that he would resort to a 14-member cabinet, without the March 8 alliance, accusing the coalition of blocking his efforts to form the government. “I exerted efforts to convince the March 8 coalition to name Salam for the premiership, I expect him to treat me with the same trust I gave him in order to end the obstacles confronting the formation of his cabinet,” Berri said. Concerning Salam's decision to consider rotational portfolios in his cabinet, Berri backed the announcement “on the condition that it includes everyone without any exceptions.”Salam is seeking to form what he called a “cabinet of national interest” that comprises no MP hopefuls. Meanwhile, the March 14 alliance has been calling for a neutral cabinet, while the March 8 camp has demanded a “political government.”

Aoun Urges Parties that Approved Orthodox Gathering Law to Respect their Commitment
Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun warned on Tuesday that his movement's position towards all sides will change should Christian parties that backed the Orthodox Gathering electoral draft law retract their approval of it during Wednesday's parliament session. He therefore urged after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting the parties to respect their commitment. “Some concessions over the electoral law need to be made,” he said in an indirect reference to the Mustaqbal bloc and MP Walid Jumblat's National Struggle Front that will not take part in the parliament session over their rejection of the Orthodox Gathering law. Speaker Nabih Berri had called parliament to session to vote on the draft law. His decision to make this law the sole article on parliament's agenda was criticized by the March 14 camp. Aoun continued: “It is not possible for political camps to unanimously agree on an electoral law.” “We cannot accept that the rights of Christians be usurped,” he stated in reference to some decisions to boycott Wednesday's session. “By what right have they taken such a decision? Shouldn't they be respecting the Taif Accord?” he wondered. Moreover, the MP said: “We believe that Christian existence is under threat in the region and we therefore call for Christian unity in order for them to restore their rights.” He made his remark in reference to the Christian Lebanese Forces and Phalange Party that agreed, along with the FPM and Marada Movement, to the Orthodox Gathering draft law.
“This law does not belong to us, but to all parties,” declared Aoun. “We will remain democratic individuals and we call on others to adopt our approach. We only have 24 hours left to reach an agreement on the Orthodox Gathering law,” added the FPM leader. Parliament is set to convene to vote on the proposal, which was rejected by President Michel Suleiman, caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, the Mustaqbal bloc, National Struggle Front, and independent March 14 lawmakers. The proposal considers Lebanon a single electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system. Its opponents claim that it encourages extremism and leads to more sectarianism in the country. But the March 8 alliance along with the Lebanese Forces and Phalange Party from March 14 stress that the plan is the only way to guarantee the best representation of Christians. The Mustaqbal bloc, National Struggle Front, March 14's independent Christian lawmakers, Miqati and caretaker Minister of State Ahmed Karami are boycotting Wednesday's session.

PSP Says Charbel Proposed to it Vote Law Plans Based on Winner-Takes-All System
Naharnet /The Progressive Socialist Party said Tuesday that Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel proposed to it several electoral draft-laws based on the winner-takes-all system in an attempt to resolve the dispute on the Orthodox Gathering plan. “Charbel has several electoral ideas that are based on the winner-takes-all system,” MP Akram Shehayyeb told reporters after meeting with the caretaker minister along with several other officials from MP Walid Jumblat's PSP. “We have never said that we reject the hybrid system and we are ready to discuss any plan that guarantees fair elections,” he said when asked by a reporter why negotiations on a draft-law that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems had gone back to the starting point. Shehayyeb, who is also a member of Jumblat's National Struggle Front bloc, accused Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement of preventing the consultations between the rival parties on a vote law from moving forward. “Two essential parties – Hizbullah and the FPM - haven't made so far any proposal on the hybrid plan,” he said, adding that “they stuck to their original demands from day one.” Asked about four-days of consecutive sessions that Speaker Nabih Berri has called for starting Wednesday, Shehayyeb said: “We made our stance clear yesterday. We won't attend the session which has the Orthodox Gathering as the sole item on its agenda.” Berri's move came after rival MPs failed during a meeting of parliament's bureau on Monday to agree on the items that should be placed on the agenda. The Orthodox plan is the only draft-law approved by the joint parliamentary committees. But it is severely criticized by al-Mustaqbal bloc, the National Struggle Front and the March 14 alliance's independent Christian MPs who have announced that they would boycott the sessions. The proposal considers Lebanon a single electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system. But it “brings back extremism and ends moderation,” Shehayyeb said. Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour, who is also a PSP official, described the plan as “a real threat to national unity.” It would create more divisions among the Lebanese if adopted, he said following talks with Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati.

Independent March 14 MPs: Berri Should've Placed More than One Draft Law on Parliament's Agenda
Naharnet /Independent March 14 lawmakers renewed on Tuesday their rejection of the Orthodox Gathering parliamentary electoral draft law, saying that it “represents a threat to Lebanon and all of its sects.” MP Butros Harb said after a meeting for the MPs: “Speaker Nabih Berri should have placed more than one electoral law on parliament's agenda on Wednesday.” He explained that parliament's regulations allow more than one law to be discussed, questioning why the speaker had only placed a single draft law on the agenda. He noted that several electoral draft laws had been discussed and therefore they should have been included for Wednesday's session.
Parliament is set to convene to vote on the Orthodox Gathering proposal, which was rejected by President Michel Suleiman, caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, the Mustaqbal bloc, and National Struggle Front of MP Walid Jumblat. The proposal considers Lebanon a single electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system. Its opponents claim that it encourages extremism and leads to more sectarianism in the country. But the March 8 alliance along with the Lebanese Forces and Phalange Party from March 14 stress that the plan is the only way to guarantee the best representation of Christians. The Mustaqbal bloc, National Struggle Front, March 14's independent Christian lawmakers, Miqati and caretaker Minister of State Ahmed Karami are boycotting Wednesday's session. Addressing efforts to form a new government, Harb slammed the “blackmail” imposed by the March 8 camp against Salam. He urged the premier-designate to follow his convictions and resist “succumbing to the other camp's conditions.” The MP explained that the president and prime minister are entitled by the constitution to come up with a government line-up that they deem suitable for Lebanon, without having to be subject to extortion from political powers. “We call on all sides to rise above petty and sectarian interests and exert efforts to form a cabinet that serves the country,” Harb said.

Three Rockets Land near al-Qaa as Army Arrests Individuals in the Area
Naharnet /Three rockets fired from the Syrian side of the border landed near al-Qaa region on Tuesday, reported the National News Agency.It said that the rockets landed on hills near the northern Bekaa town of al-Qaa.The Lebanese army has meanwhile detained two Syrians who happened to be in the area. On April 14, two people were killed and five wounded in shelling from Syria on the Bekaa town of al-Qasr and region of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali in al-Hermel. The shelling of al-Hermel has been attributed to the Syrian rebels who are responding to Hizbullah's fighting alongside the Syrian regime forces in the ongoing conflict in the neighboring country. Regime forces have regained control from the rebels of a number of the Reef Qusayr villages along the border with Lebanon. The advances were made in support of Hizbullah fighters.

Military Tribunal Receives File on Estonians' Kidnapper
Naharnet /The case of the mastermind in the kidnapping of the seven Estonian cyclists have been referred to the Military Tribunal, reported the National News Agency Tuesday. It said that State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr referred the case of Hussein al-Hujairi to the permanent military court. The Internal Security Forces announced earlier in May that it had arrested Hujairi for plotting the abduction of the Estonians in 2011. A special unit from the ISF Intelligence Branch arrested him in the outskirts of Arsal and Ras Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa valley after luring him to the area. He is a suspect in the killing of Sergeant Elias Nasrallah and Information Branch Sergeant Major Rashed Sabri. He is involved in the kidnapping of three BBC journalists and transferring them to Syria where they were later released. The seven Estonians were freed in July 2011, some four months after being abducted by armed men as they entered Lebanon on a bicycle tour from neighboring Syria.Their release took place amid unclear circumstances.

Syria Opposition Urges Lebanon to Control Border, Withdraw Hizbullah Fighters from Qusayr
Naharnet/Syria's opposition National Coalition demanded Lebanon on Tuesday to control the border and secure the withdrawal of Hizbullah fighters from the neighboring country, warning that 30,000 civilians in the rebel-held town of Qusayr faced an "extremely dangerous situation." "We ask the (U.N.) Security Council to issue a decision forcing Lebanon to control its borders, and thus guarantee the withdrawal of Hizbullah members from Syrian territory," the coalition said in a released statement. Hizbullah, an Assad ally, has dispatched its fighters to battle alongside regime troops in the Qusayr region, near the border with Lebanon. The statement said President Bashar Assad has "mobilized military forces in the direction of the city of Qusayr, in the province of Homs," describing reports of dozens of tanks and large groups of soldiers on the outskirts of the town. "The Syrian Coalition stresses that this is an extremely dangerous situation. We warn civil society of these new crimes that Assad may soon commit against the residents of Qusayr." The statement called on NGOs to head to Qusayr and for quick international action "to help save 30,000 civilians facing imminent danger."The regime has made recapturing the town and the area in central Homs province a key objective, and fierce fighting has raged in the vicinity for months. In recent weeks, regime forces backed by Hizbullah and members of the National Defense Forces, a pro-regime militia, have advanced in the region, taking a string of villages and reportedly surrounding the town of Qusayr on three sides. A military source last week said leaflets had been dropped on the town, urging civilians to leave via a safe passage, but activists in Qusayr said no leaflets were dropped and there was no safe way out. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has also expressed concern about what might follow a regime advance into the town of Qusayr, a rebel bastion which has resisted the army for the past year. The head of the Britain-based monitoring group, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Agence France Presse that he feared a "massacre" in the town. Source/Agence France Presse.

Canada Deports to Lebanon a Palestinian over 1968 Israeli Airline Attack
Naharnet /A Palestinian man who lived in Canada for the past 26 years has been deported to Lebanon over a 1968 attack on an Israeli airliner, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Monday.
Issa Mohammed immigrated to Canada using a false alias in 1987, after being convicted by a Greek court of storming a civilian airliner and killing a passenger and later being released from jail in a hostage exchange.
Over the weekend, after a decades-long legal battle confirming his inadmissibility due to his deceit and ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Canada sent him back to Lebanon, where he had last gained residency through marriage, Kenney said. "He lied about his identity, he lied about not having a criminal past, he lied about not having ties to terrorist organizations. (One year after his arrival), Canada discovered his real identity and began a process that lasted the next 25 years, trying to remove Mr. Issa Mohammed," he said. The minister blamed delays in deporting Mohammed on "a system that was so bogged down in redundant process and endless appeals that it seemed to some like we would never be able to enforce the integrity of Canada's immigration system and deport this terrorist killer."
Canada's immigration laws have recently been updated to try to avoid similar drawn out legal battles, he noted. Born in 1943, Mohammed joined the PFLP at the age of 25 and was sent to Greece with an accomplice to hijack an Israeli airliner making a stopover in Athens during a Tel Aviv to New York flight on December 26, 1968. He was arrested and sentenced in 1970 for throwing grenades and firing at civilians in the attack, killing one, to 17 years in prison but later the same year he was released as a result of a hostage negotiation when fellow PFLP members stormed another plane demanding his release.
Following his release, he lived in Cyprus, in Lebanon and in Spain before his arrival in Canada.Source/Agence France Press.

Erdogan Rejects Syrian Proposal of Joint Inquiry on Reyhanli Blasts
Naharnet/Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday firmly rejected a Syrian proposal to hold a joint probe over a twin car bomb attack that killed 51 people. "The administration in power in Damascus is illegal ... how can we recognize a structure that isn't even recognized by its own citizens," Erdogan told reporters before leaving for a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Thursday. Syria said earlier that it is willing to carry out a joint investigation with Turkey into Reyhanli's deadly attacks that Ankara has accused Damascus of masterminding, a Syrian minister said on Tuesday. "If the government of Erdogan calls for a joint, transparent investigation by the two countries, we have no objection, in order to find the truth," Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said. "The truth must be announced to the Syrian and Turkish people," official media quoted him as saying. The twin car bombings that rocked the town of Reyhanli in southern Turkey on Saturday killed 51 people and wounded dozens more. Erdogan told parliament on Tuesday that 13 people have been held by police in connection with the attacks, the deadliest to hit Turkey since the beginning of the uprising in neighboring Syria in March 2011. Turkey has blamed a radical Marxist group affiliated with President Bashar Assad's regime for the attack. Damascus has denied any involvement. Ankara has sided with the rebels fighting to topple Assad's regime and has taken in around 400,000 refugees as well as army defectors and repeatedly called on the international community to act on the unfolding crisis.Source/Agence France Press.

Russia Vows to Expel 'U.S. CIA Agent' from Moscow
Naharnet /..Russia on Tuesday ordered the expulsion of an alleged American CIA agent working undercover at the U.S. embassy who was discovered with a large stash of money trying to recruit a Russian agent. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB, ex-KGB) identified the man as Ryan C. Fogle -- third secretary of the political section of Washington's embassy in Moscow -- and said he had been handed back to the embassy after his detention. The foreign ministry said it was summoning U.S. ambassador Michael McFaul on Wednesday for an explanation and slammed Washington for what it described as "provocative acts in the spirit of the Cold War".
It declared Fogle to be persona non grata who had to return to the United States "as soon as possible" -- a complete contrast to the joint pledges for intelligence cooperation after the Boston bombings. U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell later confirmed that an American staffer at the embassy had been briefly detained, but refused to respond to allegations that the man was an undercover CIA agent.
"We can confirm that an officer at our U.S. embassy in Moscow was briefly detained and was released," he told reporters.
"We've seen the Russian foreign ministry announcement and we have no further comment at this time," he said, adding under repeated questioning that "I don't have anything more for you on the details of the case."
A U.S. official, asking not to be named, said that in such cases "when there are orders to remove our personnel, we comply with that."Ventrell hinted more details might be provided after ambassador McFaul's meetings, but also refused to discuss whether Washington might be thinking of taking any tit-for-tat measure. Photographs published by state English language television RT showed a baseball-capped Fogle being pinned face down to the ground and having his hands put behind his back for the arrest. He was then shown being questioned at the Federal Security Service while documents such as his passport and a stack of 500 euro notes along with some letters were displayed. The FSB footage also displayed supposed espionage equipment including two wigs as well as a compass and even a mundane atlas of Moscow as well as a somewhat old-fashioned mobile phone.
The FSB warned in a statement that "recently, the U.S. intelligence service has made repeated attempts to recruit the staff of Russian law enforcement agencies and special services".
Russian state television shown footage provided by the FSB in which Fogle is seen sitting down in a checked shirt as a man -- presumably a Russian security officer -- tells the suspect about his alleged crime. He is then accused of offering $100,000 for espionage to a security service employee who is involved in counterinsurgency work in the Russian North Caucasus.
"We did not believe this at first, because as you know the FSB has been actively helping the investigation of the Boston blasts," the officer says as Fogle and three men silently listen with arms crossed. The incident comes amid a new downturn in Russian-U.S. relations sparked by the Syrian crisis and concern in Washington over what it sees as President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on all dissent. The last major spy row between the two former Cold War rivals involved the glamorous Anna Chapman and large group of Russian spies who were arrested on the U.S. East Coast in June 2010. That spy scandal -- which ended with their swap for four Russians convicted of spying for the West -- was a huge embarrassment for Russia's foreign intelligence at the time. The FSB and Russia's tightly-controlled state media appeared intent Tuesday on showing to the public that the man it had caught was a real agent who posed a danger to Russia's interests. The photos published by RT also showed a document entitled "printed instructions for the Russian citizen being recruited".
Parts of the recruiting document allegedly used by Fogle read: "Dear Friend. This is an advance from somebody who is impressed with your professionalism, and who would value highly your future cooperation with us".
As well as $100,000 outright "we offer up to $1 million per year for long-term cooperation, with a promise for an additional bonus for information that will help us".
Analysts said the fact that the case received such media attention means that senior Russian leaders had decided to use the arrest to make a political point to Washington.
Some such cases are often handled quietly and tit-for-tat expulsions are sometimes only made public once completed.
Independent analyst Alexander Golts added that the million dollars the United States was allegedly willing to pay the Russian security service worker seemed far too large for a regular worker.
"These numbers raise red flags," Golts said in a telephone interview. "For that amount, they could have expected to at least get the deputy head of Russia's foreign intelligence."
Source/Agence France Presse..

Iraq Says Entry of Kurd Fighters Violates Sovereignty, Plans to Present Complaint to U.N.
Naharnet/The Iraqi government said on Tuesday that it rejects the entry of Kurdish fighters from Turkey into its territory as a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty that damages relations with Ankara. "The Iraqi government confirms its rejection of the withdrawal and the presence of armed men of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) inside Iraqi territory, which is a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and independence," a statement from the cabinet said. The first group out of the roughly 2,000 PKK fighters who are departing Turkey as part of a peace drive aimed at ending the 29-year conflict with Ankara arrived in north Iraq on Tuesday.
The move "causes severe damage to neighborly relations between the two countries and their common interests," the statement said. Iraq plans to present a complaint to the United Nations Security Council, so the body will "take the necessary decision to prevent the violation of Iraq's sovereignty," it added. Source/Agence France Press.