Aoun called his visit a new page in Lebanese Syrian relations, but avoided discussing controversial issues like the Shebaa farms, border demarcations, missing Lebanese in Syrian jails etc.. He adopted the Syrian position on all these crucial issues.
In Lebanon Christian leaders attacked his visit . Dori Chamoun interpreted the visit as a “request for Syrian support in the upcoming parliamentary elections, and this is blatant interference in the affairs of Lebanon.” He added “When Aoun was in France, Syria helped him return [to Lebanon] to run his elections, and Aoun owes Syria,” Chamoun told NOW Lebanon.
Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra said that the “rush” of officials from different factions to visit Damascus comes after a painful history between Lebanon and Syria. It is disappointing, he said, that some Lebanese officials vindicate Syria, despite the fact that many issues have not been resolved yet.
Similarly Future MP Mohammad Qabbani told Voice of Lebanon " Aoun’s visit to Syria does not open a new page between Lebanon and Syria but between Aoun and Syria.”
Another Future MP Hadi Hobeich said that the Syrian regime’s welcome of General Michel Aoun was to reward him for the services he rendered to Syria. “President Suleiman did not receive such a welcome when he visited Syria,” he added.
Wednesday
00:20 price of crude oil has dropped below $46/ Barrel
22:47 Aoun told Hezbollah's al Manar TV: My visit to Syria is very successful and those who are jealous over the reception I received , let them furnish a red carpet in their homes and walk on it
22:20 American report: Peace between Israel and Syria will reduce the influence of Iran in the region specially with regards to Hezbollah and will improve chances of stability in Lebanon
21:47 Ghassan Mukhaiber told ANB: The FPM did not switch from being an enemy of Syria to an ally or a follower of Syria and Iran . One of the reasons for Aoun's visit is to open a new page and to learn from the past
21:00 Ya Libnan exclusive: according to Ya Libnan representative in Sydney, Australia the FPM supporters were told that Aoun has already resolved the issue of the missing Lebanese and those in Syrian jails . Assad has reportedly left it out for Aoun to decide when and where the missing Lebanese will be handed over to him. According to his supporters , Aoun may decide not receive all the missing Lebanese at the same time to maximize gain in the upcoming elections . Assad reportedly wants Aoun to win in the upcoming elections and will do everything to help him succeed
20:55 MP Jumblatt told Future TV:" I am hoping to meet with Nasrallah: I was the first to recognize the victory of the resistance in the July war and called for the recognition of each other and I encouraged the Hariri - Nasrallah meeting to remove tension in Beirut.
No Palestinian weapons are outside the camps. These weapons are Syrian. Syria is a terrorist factory starting with Shaker al Absi all the way to Jawhar and Awad. The unfair agreement with Syria should be cancelled. I am against the joint Syrian-Lebanese Higher Council.
March 14 wants to win the elections to consolidate the independence march. If they win ( March 8) , however, (Syrian) tutelage will return, Palestinian arms will remain and so will both the Lebanese and the Resistance armies.
20:12 Suleiman after meeting with Arab ambassadors that are based in Berlin: the relationship with Syria has returned to the right and natural path, and we hope to duplicate this relationship with all the Arab countries
20:06 OTV : It is almost certain there will be another meeting between Gen. Aoun and President Assad
20:01 Aoun and Walid Muallem met at the Sheraton Hotel in Damascus
19:45 MP Nabil Nicola from Damascus told Al-Manar TV:" Aoun is in Syria in response to the desire of the Christians "to bury the past and start a new white page in the relationship with Syria"
19:19 Geagea asked: Did the Lebanese ask General Michel Aoun to express his conscious in Syria ?
19:12 Minister Shatah met with the Ambassador of Austria and will conclude tomorrow his meetings over the budget
18:35 The president of the University of Saint Joseph suspends all forms of extracurricular activity, political or otherwise.
17:21 Court of Appeals Judge Joseph Maamri also charged the three SSNP detainees Adonis Asaad Nasr, Mohammed Ali Awdeh and Ali Rida Hasan with beating Omar Harqous, threatening to kill and causing bodily harm to the television reporter and leaving him unable to work for 10 days.
17:12 Al Markaziyeh: The political escalation will continue but will remain within the framework of the Doha accord
16:55 Minister Lahoud wishes that the trips to Syria follow the standard set by Suleiman
16:45 Mousawi : The politics of playing the Christians against each other is a destabilizing factor
16:20 six members of former president Carter's team have arrived in Beirut to prepare for his upcoming visit on Dec 9, 2008
15:17 Judge Rashid Mezher interrogates Ali Jarrah.
15:15 Merkel confirmed during talks with Suleiman German concerns about stability in Lebanon and its support for its unity and sovereignty
14:45 March 14 : Bellemare 's report is a victory for justice
13:58 After being introduced by Syrian Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban Aoun said during a press conference that he had " heart to heart talk " with Assad. He added " the Lebanese in Beirut should start apologizing"
12:12 MP Hadi Hobeich said that the Syrian regime’s welcome of General Michel Aoun was to reward him for the services he rendered to Syria. “President Sleiman did not receive such a welcome when he visited Syria,” he added.
11:24 Parliamentary committees convene in the House of Parliament to discuss the wages and salaries law.
11:15 Monsignor Youssef Tawk urges unity
10:28 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with FPM leader MP Michel Aoun at Qasr al-Shaab in Damascus.
10:19 For every 20 liters, the price of fuel oil drops 800 LL($.53); and the price of household gas tanks drops 500 LL ( $.33).
09:44 Deputy Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad says Aoun’s visit to Syria is successful and a good thing for Lebanese-Syrian relations which should be firm.
09:38 AFP reports FPM leader MP Michel Aoun headed straight to the Syrian presidential palace to meet President Bashar al-Assad and will hold a press conference afterward.
09:02 FPM leader MP Michel Aoun tells Syrian state TV: I am happy to visit Syria; and this visit will be a basis for new relations between Lebanon and Syria.
9:00 Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir heads the monthly meeting by bishops at Bkirki.
08:51 Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra said that the “rush” of officials from different factions to visit Damascus comes after a painful history between Lebanon and Syria. It is disappointing, he said, that some Lebanese officials vindicate Syria, despite the fact that many issues have not been resolved yet.
08:49 FPM leader MP Michel Aoun arrived at Damascus airport where he was received by Deputy Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad. Aoun was accompanied by his Change and Reform bloc MPs: Ibrahim Kanaan, Nabil Nicola, Farid al-Khazen, Abbas Hashim, and former Minister Sebouh Hovnanian.
08:21 Qabbani said that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s visit to Syria “does not open a new page between Lebanon and Syria but between Aoun and Syria.”
Tuesday
20:55 MP Saad Hariri met Former president Amin Gemayel at his residence in Quraitem and discussed recent developments
20:53 MP Musbah al Ahdab told Future TV : We condemn all attacks against the army.
20:21 President Suleiman arrived in Berlin on an official two-day visit
20:20 Head of Higher Relief Council (HRC): The checks that bounced have enough funds in the bank and are ready to be dispensed. The rumors that the checks were issued with insufficient funds in the account are fabricated lies
March 14 sources told Future TV: The new report by Bellemare will create more tension with Syria . This could prompt Syria to call on its allies in Lebanon to end the truce with the majority
20:00 LBC: Bellemare report talks about important progress in the investigation and reveals connection between all the assassinations and also reveals new suspects in the crimes
19:45 Minister of Youth and Sports Talal Arslan, who is in Cuba condemned the attacks against the army and its chief general Kahwaji
19: 40 Lebanese MPs who are members of the International Association for the Support of Palestine denounced the Arab silence towards the Israeli siege of Gaza
19:25 PM Fouad Siniora receives a copy of the Special Tribunal’s upcoming report, in which Judge Daniel Bellmare has requested that the special investigation be extended until February 20, 2009.
18:53 Education Minister Bahia Hariri announced that the schools will close for three days in observation of the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday
16:50 Crude oil has fallen to a new 3-1/2-year low below $48, weighed down by gloom over the ailing world economy and its impact on fuel demand.