Al Akhbar: Sources Confirm Optimism on S-S Settlement

Local Editor

An informed source on the Syrian-Saudi settlement assured that it is unquestionably on the way, confirming optimism with regards to the S-S initiative which is on the rise again.

In a statement to Al Akhbar newspaper on Monday, the source added that the optimism emanating from the former opposition in Lebanon is built on real facts as well as on "necessity."

Also, a Lebanese official figure travelling back and forth between Beirut and Damascus asserted that the first part of the settlement, which aims to move beyond the tension regarding the stances on the STL, has been almost settled, hence the realistic side of the optimist outlook.

According to the same source, discussions moved a while ago to what lies after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), and specifically the organization of internal Lebanese affairs. In other words, they tackle the price that Hariri will ask in return for giving up the STL.

The first such price, according to the source, will be for "Hariri to remain as a prime minister who is capable of ruling," assuring that no one will have the absolute upper hand regarding the internal issues, whether economic or administrative, while Hariri remains comfortable in office.

The source also noted that the details of the settlement are limited to the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and his foreign minister Walid Al Mualllem, Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and his political aide Ali Hassan Khalil, Head of FPM Gen. Michel Aoun and Hizbullah SG Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his political aide Hassn Khalil.