For the sixth consecutive day, the Ministerial Statement committee held a meeting at the Grand Serail under Prime Minister Saad Hariri in an attempt to conclude discussions and finalize drafting the statement…
 
However, and for the first time, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, frustrated by the developments within the Internal Security Forces (ISF) institution, didn't attend the meeting…
 
Meanwhile, chances that the committee could accomplish its mission before Independence Day or even before Adha started to decrease. In this context, Information Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters from Bkerke where he met Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir that he does not think the Ministerial Statement will be finalized by Sunday, Lebanon's Independence Day. According to Mitri, there is a mood of consensus between the various parties. Mitri noted that this mood was reflected by their willingness to reach an agreement, adding that the "majority" of the draft is finalized.
 
State Minister Adnan Sayyed Hussein confirmed this positive atmosphere and denied reports that there are differences between political parties over the issue of the Resistance's arms. The Lebanese Minister told Al-Manar that he expects the Ministerial Statement to be drafted soon.
 
For his part, State Minister Wael Abu Faour assured Lebanese that the general atmosphere was positive since the majority of issues under the ministerial policy statement have been agreed upon.
 
While press reports claimed that the main conflict was focusing on the Resistance arms' issue, the head of the Phalange party former President Amin Gemayel, whose representative in the committee Minister Salim Sayegh seems to be taking an extreme position over the issue, found the solution. During an interview with Al-Massira magazine, he expressed his belief that the ministerial Policy Statement would be concluded through "words manipulation and walking between the lines."
 
Whether the solution was reached through "word manipulation" or "true consensus," the Lebanese are just requesting a government that really cares for their interests…
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