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Report: Russia Relies on Lebanon to ‘Spark’ Refugees’ Return

A month after the launch of the Russian plan to repatriate Syrian refugees in Lebanon back to their homeland, Moscow hopes that the process will gather momentum after the scheduled talks on Monday between caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Basil and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported.

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UAE Warns of 'Consequences' after Nasrallah Meets Huthis

An Emirati minister warned Sunday of “consequences” after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met in Lebanon with a delegation from Yemen's Huthi rebels.

“How can the dissociation policy – which Lebanon needs for its political and economic balance and Arab and international position – correspond to Hassan Nasrallah's hosting of a delegation from the Huthi insurgents? This is a question which we call on Lebanon to deal with,” UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a tweet.

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Jreissati Says Govt. Can be Formed in Late August if Hariri Decides

The new government can be formed in late August should Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri take the decision to do so, caretaker Justice Minister Salim Jreissati said on Sunday.

“August carries all victories, from 2006 to the Dawn of the Hills (army operation against the Islamic State group), and its end will carry a solution for the 'government's captivity' should Hariri make up his mind and take a brave decision,” Jreissati, who is close to President Michel Aoun, tweeted.

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Senior U.S. General Concludes Visit to Lebanon

Major General Michael Langley, United States Central Command Director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy, visited Lebanon from August 15 to 18, the U.S. embassy said.

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Jumblat: Upcoming Developments More Important than Futile Debates

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Sunday urged his party's members and supporters to avoid verbal clashes with rival parties, warning that “the country's problems and the upcoming developments are more important.”

“Whatever the political problems may be, I urge party members and supporters not to lose nerve and engage in exchanges of tirades regardless of any remarks against us as a party or against me as a person,” Jumblat tweeted.

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Hariri Relying on 'Agreement with Putin' to 'Protect Country'

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is increasingly “putting Russia in the picture of the Lebanese situation's developments” as well as “his stance on the file of the relation with the Syrian regime,” a media report said.

Hariri is also “following up on the issue of the Syrian refugees in light of the Russian initiative,” political sources told Kuwait's al-Rai daily in remarks published Sunday.

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Aoun 'Convinced' Foreign Meddling behind Govt. Delay

President Michel Aoun has become “convinced” that “foreign interference” is behind the ongoing delay in the Cabinet formation process, sources close to him have said.

In remarks to UAE's al-Khaleej newspaper published Sunday, the sources said the president believes foreign meddling is pushing Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat to show “inflexibility” in their demands.

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People Smuggler Arrested in Zahle

The Internal Security Forces Information Branch arrested a people smuggler on Saturday in the town of Karak in Zahle on charges of smuggling Syrian individuals into Lebanese territories, a statement issued by the ISF Directorate General said.

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Riachi Says FPM 'Threw Over' the Rest of Maarab Agreement

As the conflict widens between the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement over ministerial shares, caretaker Information Minister Melhem Riachi said the FPM “had obtained what it wanted from the Maarab Agreement and shunned other elements of the accord," Asharq al-Awsat daily reported on Saturday.

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Berri Blasts 'Time Wasting' on Govt., Decries Power Ships, Generators

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday warned over the “wasting of time” in the government formation process as he urged a comprehensive solution for the country's chronic power generation crisis.

Speaking at an AMAL Movement rally at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut, Berri criticized officials who are “abandoning responsibility for the country, paralyzing the state and undermining what's left of the economy.”

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