United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly hailed on Wednesday the resumption of the national dialogue between Lebanese foes, warning of turning Lebanon into an arms smuggling hub to Syria.

“What matters now is the Lebanese people’s willingness to safeguard the country and not what the foreign powers want,” Plumbly told As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati described a session held at the Grand Serail on Tuesday as “fruitful” and “calm” but said the government will fail to convene again this week pending the recovery of Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published Wednesday, Miqati said: “The cabinet was productive and fruitful and several articles that were on the agenda were adopted in a calm and productive atmosphere.”

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed regret on Wednesday that parts of the minutes of the national dialogue session were leaked to the media, saying he would exert efforts to keep the discussions confidential.

In remarks to several newspapers, Berri said the leaks reflect negatively on the atmosphere of dialogue, adding he would discuss the issue with the concerned officials “in the hopes that we would succeed in preventing the leaks that hit the privacy of the discussions and the confidentiality of deliberations.”

Clashes with machineguns erupted on Tuesday in the Beirut southern suburb of al-Kafaat between members of the al-Moqdad family and “others from Hizbullah,” MTV reported.

The clashes broke out “after Hizbullah members arrested members of the al-Moqdad family for robbing a store,” MTV said.

Lebanese abductee Suleiman al-Ahmed was released by Syrian authorities on Tuesday and returned to the northern town of Wadi Khaled, where town dignitaries and officials celebrated his release.

At the courtyard of al-Hisheh municipality, heavy celebratory gunfire erupted as al-Ahmed arrived at his hometown where he was welcomed by a mass rally.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc said on Tuesday that national dialogue is “useless if it does not tackle Hizbullah arms,” adding that “the rhetoric of treason accusations and threats” indicates bad intentions.

The bloc issued a statement after its weekly meeting, saying that “certain stances expressed at the dialogue session echo the accusations of treason and threats, which reflects the bad intentions of some groups.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday called on the government to address the situation in the Bekaa and the North and to “take control of security” there, following the “Baabda Declaration” agreed by the members of the national dialogue committee on Monday.

“We announced that the outcome of dialogue was positive given that everyone agreed on that and we hope everyone will abide by its resolutions,” Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc in Rabiyeh.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Tuesday released a media advisory reminding that its Trial Chamber will hold sessions on June 13 and 14 to hear arguments from the Prosecution, the defense counsel and the legal representatives of victims on the tribunal’s jurisdiction and the legality of its creation.

Below is the full text of the media advisory:

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel set July 15 as the date for the by-election to replace late MP Farid Habib.

The election will take place in the Koura district to fill the vacant Greek Orthodox seat in parliament.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly said Tuesday the use of arms in highly populated areas needs to be resolved through long term steps to prevent recurrence of violence.

Following talks with Mufti of Tripoli Sheikh Malek al-Shaar, Plumbly said: “The presence and use of arms in civilian and highly populated areas is of particular concern and needs to be resolved.”