Former President Michel Suleiman slammed media reports alleging that his ministerial bloc and that of the Kataeb party had demanded appointing one of the two Christian members in the military council in return for accepting the appointment of the second by the Change and Reform bloc head MP Michel Aoun.

“We have not and will not demand naming one of the members as a condition to accept the nomination of the other. We continue to call for respecting the mechanism and standards and to distance the military institution from conflicts,” said Suleiman in a tweet.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea urged Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi to carry on with a request to refer the trail of ex-Minister Michel Samaha to the judicial council in the wake of his release from jail.

“I urge the Justice Minister to go ahead with the draft project to refer the case of Samaha to the judicial council,” said Geagea via twitter on Sunday.

French sources following up closely on the Lebanese presidential file said that France will likely discuss the thorny issue with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his visit to the French capital slated for January 28, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported on Sunday.

“Paris will raise the subject of the Lebanese presidency with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his visit to France in January, without showing that it is posing a requirement on Iran so that the Iranian side does not raise the price,” the daily said quoting French sources.

Ministers of the Kataeb party and former President Michel Suleiman refuse to give the privilege of naming the two Christian figures for the appointment of military council to MP Michel Aoun, al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Sunday.

“Two parties in the cabinet, the Kataeb and ministers of President Michel Suleiman, refuse that MP Aoun names the Christian members for the military council appointments. They want to suggest one of the candidates leaving naming the other to Aoun,” ministerial sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora condemned on Saturday on behalf of the March 14 alliance the release of former Minister Michel Samaha from prison, saying that the Military Court's ruling is an “insult to the Lebanese people.”

He said: “The Lebanese people will not accept a new phase of foreign hegemony and will reject a Military Court that pardons traitors.”

The General Security announced on Saturday the arrest of a Lebanese national on terrorism charges.

It said that M.M. was arrested for belonging to the Islamic State extremist group.

The mother of former MP Hassan Yaaqoub was admitted to hospital on Saturday for treatment following a hunger strike in protest against her son's detention, reported the National News Agency.

The wife of Sheikh Mohammed Yaaqoub, she has been staging a sit-in for three weeks at al-Safa Mosque over the issue.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed his disappointment over the manner in which former Minister Michel Samaha was released from jail after he was arrested on terrorism charges, reported various media on Saturday.

His visitors quoted him as saying that the Military General Prosecution “should have awaited the verdict” before releasing the former minister.

Cabinet is expected to hold a new session after two weeks due to Prime Minister Tammam Salam's foreign commitments, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

It said that in the meantime, contacts are being held between Speaker Nabih Berri, Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji over the divisive issue of the military appointments.

The Saudi grant to the Lebanese army is not facing new obstacles and should be implemented “soon, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.

A high-ranking military source told the daily that “some technical details need to be addressed.”