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Assiri: There Are Only Suggestions and Not a Saudi-Syrian Initiative

Saudi Ambassador Ali Awad Assiri has denied there was a Saudi-Syrian initiative aimed at stirring Lebanon out of its crisis, saying Riyadh and the international community were keen on seeing an inter-Lebanese agreement over the deadlock.

“There is no Saudi-Syrian initiative for a solution. There are suggestions,” Assiri told As Safir daily in an interview published Friday.

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Report: Hariri Informed Damascus he was Committed to Saudi Demands on Crisis Settlement

Arab diplomatic sources in Beirut said that Premier Saad Hariri sent a letter to the Syrian leadership stressing his commitment to agreements reached between Damascus and Riyadh.

The letter came in response to accusations that Hariri was not committed to Riyadh’s demands on a settlement of the Lebanese crisis, the sources told As Safir newspaper.

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Nasrallah, Berri Aides Return from Damascus with 'No New Developments', Report

The political aides to Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri reportedly returned from Damascus with no new developments.

Al-Liwaa daily on Friday said Hizbullah's Hussein Khalil and Berri's Ali Hasan Khalil headed back home late Thursday after meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in an effort to help find a settlement to the ongoing Lebanon crisis.

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Abadi: Breakthrough Likely to Be Reached Soon, No Need to Fear

Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Rokn Abadi announced that a breakthrough in the Lebanon crisis is likely to be reached soon, stressing that there is no need to fear.

"Efforts to reach a compromise deal will achieve a breakthrough," he said in remarks published Friday by AL-Liwaa newspaper, adding that Prime Minister Hariri Saad Hariri's Tehran visit was "very successful" at all levels -- political, economic and social development.

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Murr Worked with US against Hizbullah: WikiLeaks

Defense Minister Elias Murr was reportedly giving U.S. diplomats advice to pass on to Israel for any Israeli attack on Hizbullah, the Los Angeles Times quoted a leaked WikiLeaks cable as saying.

Murr has dismissed the cables as "incomplete and inaccurate."

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Hizbullah: French-Saudi Effort to Postpone Indictment

France and Saudi Arabia were on Friday reportedly engaged in efforts to reach a settlement ahead of issuance of the indictment in the murder case of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper quoted Hizbullah sources as saying that while the U.S. was seeking issuance of the indictment before Dec. 15, Paris and Riyadh were trying to delay the decision by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

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Raad Calls for Serious Efforts to Help Saudi-Syrian Initiative Succeed

Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad has called for serious efforts to help the regional Saudi-Syrian initiative on Lebanon to succeed.

In remarks to As Safir newspaper, Raad said: “At a time when the Saudi-Syrian initiative is becoming more active to settle the crisis, this stage requires serious efforts to help the regional effort.”

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U.S. Rejects Compromises on Tribunal

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice has stressed that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon should not be compromised on.

Rice said it was important to remember that the Lebanese government and the people are the ones who asked for the establishment of the tribunal.

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Sfeir Wishes Suleiman Success in Efforts to Relaunch Dialogue

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir hoped on Thursday that President Michel Suleiman would succeed in his efforts to relaunch national dialogue sessions.

“Lebanon is a small country dogged by crises … This small country is influenced by its neighbors that’s why its citizens are always worried,” Sfeir told a delegatiion from the Antonine University in Baabda.

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High-ranking Hizbullah Official Rules Out Indictment Soon

A high-ranking Hizbullah official has told opposition parties that the indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will not be issued anytime soon, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Thursday.

“There is enough time to seek for a settlement over the indictment,” the official said.

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