by Nazeer Rida - Asharq Al-Awsat

Beirut- Leader of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) deputy Walid Jumblatt was received warmly in Moscow on Friday, reflecting a great improvement in the relations between the two parties following Jumblatt’s harsh positions against the Syrian regime and its president Bashar al-Assad. The visit also revealed that Jumblatt was capable of restoring relations with Moscow, through the same Syria crisis door, as he reiterated his support for a political solution in Syria in which Moscow plays a role. Jumblatt’s trip to Russia coincided with the Russian efforts to revive the Syrian peace talks in Geneva and Moscow’s attempts to fortify a ceasefire deal and demarcate the borders of the deescalation zones that would involve Deraa, a Syrian province located near Suwayda, which includes a majority of Druze.

The PSP leader arrived Friday to Moscow where he separately met with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. His meeting with Lavrov was rather political, while Jumblatt said his meeting with Bogdanov was of a “cordial nature.” The Druze leader had last met with the Russian foreign minister about two years ago, which explains that Jumblatt’s visit to Moscow this week has opened a new horizon of the relations between the two sides.

By Youssef Diab - english.aawsat.com

Beirut – Secretary-General of Lebanese Hezbollah Hasan Nasrallah made recent statements hinting towards opening borders for foreign fighters in case of new war with Israel. These statements were a blatant defiance for the Lebanese government risking transforming Lebanon into a war zone similar to the case of Syria. Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea condemned Nasrallah’s remarks reiterating that opening the Lebanese border is not up to anyone. “It is not up to anybody to open Lebanese borders, even the Lebanese Cabinet,” he said. Geagea questioned “if we want to defend our country in case of an Israeli aggression, do we open the border and recruit thousands of strangers as fighters, from unknown whereabouts, for them to occupy the country? “In case of an Israeli aggression against Lebanon, it is clearly logical for the Lebanese Army to face it aided with the other Lebanese armed forces and backed by the Lebanese people,” Geagea stated.

On Friday on the occasion of al-Quds Day, Nasrallah warned Israel against attacking Lebanon or Syria, saying “hundreds of thousands” of Arab and Muslim fighters would be ready to strike back. “I’m not saying countries would intervene directly, but it would open the door for hundreds of thousands of fighters from all around the Arab and Islamic world to participate in this fight, from Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,” Nasrallah said. Director of Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs (LISA) Sami Nader said that Iran is trying to expand its presence in response to the US-Russian agreement spoken about in Syria. He stated that since the Syrian crisis, Iran is trying to infiltrate into Golan Heights and enforce Israel into clashes. Nader stressed that violating UN Resolution 1701 will cost Lebanon highly, and that is why Hezbollah is trying to enforce a new plan against Israel over the Syrian border.

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