Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s statements to al-Arabiya television will trigger wide responses locally, especially among the March 14-led opposition that had already criticized them, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Friday.

Sources told the newspaper that al-Rahi’s statements will have an impact on the Christians in Lebanon and they will confuse them.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that some Syrians protesting against Bashar Al-Assad's regime are "terrorists" and that the world should urge both sides to refrain from violence.

In an interview with the France-based news channel Euronews, Medvedev admitted the Syrian authorities had been guilty of using "disproportionate force" against protesters, but called the country a "friend" of Russia.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Thursday that Prime Minister Najib Miqati is attempting to assume his responsibilities regarding the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, adding that even if the government were to be transformed into a caretaking one, it wouldn’t be able to escape funding the international court.

He said: “The government will incur negative consequences if it shies away from its duty to fund the STL.”

Syria, accused by France of "crimes against humanity," on Thursday sent its security forces storming into a northwestern village where they killed three military defectors, rights activists said.

"A force comprising seven armored vehicles and 10 jeeps stormed the village of Ibleen in Jabal Al-Zawiyah (region) in search of people wanted by the security services," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams ruled out and Israeli attack on Lebanon, noting that Lebanon is the only country around the world that its sovereignty is being violated on a daily basis.

Williams told al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday that Lebanon’s commitment to Security Council resolution 1701 was flawless, praising the current and previous Prime Ministers’ commitment to the international resolutions.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams underscored on Wednesday the importance of maintaining stability in Lebanon and protecting the country from events in neighboring Syria.

He said after holding talks with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel: “There needs to be political consensus that what happens in Syria is not allowed to affect Lebanon.”

France on Wednesday accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime of committing crimes against humanity and expressed hope that Russia would soon join sanctions against its old regional ally.

"The Syrian regime has committed crimes against humanity," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said during talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

The embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad will seek to expand trade ties with markets in Asia and elsewhere to bypass European economic sanctions, Syria's finance minister said Wednesday at a meeting of Arab finance chiefs.

Mohammad Jleilati did not name specific countries for stronger economic bonds, but listed Russia, China and others in Asia as traditionally "friendly" to Syria.

Syrian security forces killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, including 17 in a tank-backed raid on the flashpoint city of Homs, activists said.

The Local Coordination Committees, which organizes the anti-regime protests on the ground, said 17 people were killed in the central city of Homs, one in Hama to the north and two in Sarmin, Idlib province.

The al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday called on the Free Patriotic Movement to “disavow” retired Brig. Gen. Fayez Karam, who was sentenced Saturday by the Military Court to two years in jail on charges of spying for Israel.

“The verdict issued against Fayez Karam requires the FPM to quickly disavow him due to his high treason,” the bloc said.