President Miche Aoun on Wednesday met with a delegation from the Saudi Shura Council, at the Baabda Palace.

Hailing “the brotherly ties that link Lebanon to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Aoun especially lauded “the initiatives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, towards Lebanon and the Lebanese.”

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday lauded the work of the finance parliamentary committee regarding the draft 2019 state budget, stressing anew “the parliament's right to practice its role in this regard.”

“The cost of deals is much higher than that of reforms,” Berri told MPs during the weekly Ain el-Tineh meeting, warning that “we are on the same boat and everyone must commit to reform and to the agreed appointments mechanism.”

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday unexpectedly and briefly joined a meeting of the Finance and Budget parliamentary Committee discussing the draft state budget, and expressed keenness that lawmakers abide by the public deficit rate that was reduced after “strenuous government efforts.”

President Michel Aoun received at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, in the presence of Russian Ambassador Alexander Zaspkin and the accompanying diplomatic delegation, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The political authority is expected to tackle the controversial issue of key appointments in public administrations as soon as “PM Saad Hariri returns from a trip abroad on Thursday,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

Topping the list of appointments is the General Prosecutor post, Judge Ghassan Oweidat is likely to be named for the position, and renewing the terms of vice governors at Banque du Liban except for the Druze seat.

Lebanese Ambassador to France, Rami Adwan revealed that French Defense Minister Florence Parly is expected to visit Lebanon at the end of June, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported on Wednesday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea held talks Tuesday evening with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Center House.

"We discussed the issue of the state budget and we are coordinating our stances with al-Mustaqbal Movement to the fullest extent," Geagea said after the meeting.

Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Tuesday described his movement's understanding with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and al-Mustaqbal Movement as a “safety new for the country and the people,” in the wake of his Monday meeting with the premier.

Bassil “stressed the firmness of the understanding with al-Mustaqbal Movement and PM Saad Hariri, because it is the basis of the country's stability in the political, security, economic and financial fields,” the Strong Lebanon bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

A grouping of retired servicemen on Tuesday vowed a fresh round of escalation in protest at proposed salary cuts in the 2019 draft state budget.

“We are hearing conflicting remarks from the ministers: one of them promises something before another torpedoes the promise, which is creating a totally uncomfortable atmosphere,” retired Brig. Gen. George Nader told MTV.

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Tuesday lauded the government's “solidarity” during the first Cabinet session after the Eid al-Fitr holiday..

“There was full governmental solidarity today,” Khalil, who represents the AMAL Movement, said after the session.