Russia seeks to control of Syrian airspace, Macron to exclude Hezbollah from Lebanese government

On Tuesday morning, the Arab newspapers discussed the Russian moves in Syria, in addition to the goal of Macron's visit to Beirut, and the Iraqi situation.

Al-Bayan: Russia seeks to expand its control over Syria's airspace

The Arab newspapers published this morning on the Syrian issue dealt with several topics, the most prominent of which was the Russian moves. In this context, Al-Bayan newspaper said: “2019 was the year of the "drone” in northwestern Syria in the areas controlled by armed factions in addition to the areas controlled by the Syrian army, which were exposed in addition to Hmeimim Military Airport, which is under Russian control, has undergone several attacks, without knowing who is attacking. However, all expectations refer to the so-called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which has simple aircraft that it uses in offensive operations.

It added, "After the progress in Astana's tracks last year, and the Russian side's focus on the need to prevent extremist groups from attacking Russian sites, these attacks significantly decreased and stopped significantly, after the Sochi agreement between the Russian and Turkish side last May."

Despite the military understandings between Russia and Turkey, Russia still needs to develop the military capabilities in northern Syria, especially the military systems to counter small aircraft, as well as the drones that have become widespread in northern Syria, whether from the Turkish or American side.

In this context, Russia seeks to tighten control over the air, in order to control the balance of power, considering the atmosphere as a prelude to controlling the ground, and expanding control in the north at the expense of Iranian and Hezbollah militias, which are stationed in the western countryside of Aleppo, as well as in the city of Saraqib in Idlib.

According to the Russian site, IZ, in a report published last month, Russian pilots are training to shoot at drones, and their destruction will be a major combat mission, despite the difficulties, as they are flying at limited air distances, which prevents them from being discovered.

The report indicated that the battles in Syria showed that “anti-aircraft ground systems are insufficient to protect against modern drones,” noting that the cost of the warplane missile is many times the cost of a small drone.

Al-Arab: Macron seeks to impose a Lebanese government without Hezbollah

On the Lebanese issue, Al-Arab newspaper said: "Lebanese political sources revealed that the Prime Minister-designate, Mustafa Adib, is heading to form a government that does not include politicians, with what this means for Hezbollah to remain outside this government, for the first time since 2005."

And stated that bringing in a Lebanese government without politicians would anger the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun and his son-in-law, Gebran Bassil, who insist that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Energy be under their direct or indirect control.

The Lebanese political sources refused to speculate about the President's reaction in the event that the designated Prime Minister asked him to sign a list of ministers in which he does not exist.

The same sources indicated that President Emmanuel Macron, who has been in Beirut since Monday evening, insists that the new Lebanese government be free of any political party representatives.

In this regard, it mentioned that Macron, who asked former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to proceed with appointing Mustafa Adib to form the government, threatened Lebanese politicians that they would have to accept what France is demanding if they want to guarantee the future.

These sources noted that hours before Macron's arrival in Beirut, "Le Figaro" newspaper published an article about the Lebanese situation revealing that Macron hinted at sanctions against Michel Aoun, Gebran Bassil, two of Aoun's three daughters and personalities close to him such as Salim Jreissati, in addition to other Lebanese politicians such as Nabih Berri and Saad Hariri.

It was stated in the article that a deputy from the Aoun group named Simon Abu Ramia knew about the matter before the article was published and contacted the journalist, George Malbrunot, the author of the article, to ask him about the validity of the information contained therein.

The same Lebanese sources wondered, would it be useful to hint at the sanctions that French sources say are "ready" for Michel Aoun and Gebran Bassil to accept taking the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Energy from them?

And indicated, in response to the question, that Macron did not take the step of imposing Mustafa Adib as prime minister in Lebanon until after consulting with Iran, which would force Hezbollah to accept staying outside the government while the party itself would “convince” Michel Aoun that it had no interest in holding on to The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Energy.

A source in the French presidency stated that Macron's demands are "clear: an important, clean, and effective government capable of implementing the necessary reforms in Lebanon, and thus capable of obtaining strong international support."

Al-Sharq al-Awsat: “Katyushas” threaten the Trump-Al-Kazemi understandings

On the Iraqi side, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper said: “The United States hinted, through its ambassador to Baghdad, Matthew Tueller, about the possibility of reviewing its relationship, and with it the international coalition, with Iraq in the event that Katyusha rockets continue to be fired at its soldiers' sites, threatening the understandings reached by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi with President Donald Trump during his recent visit to Washington. "

Ambassador Tueller declared that if the missile rhetoric triumphed over the speech of moderation, this could push the United States and even the international coalition to review the relationship with Iraq.

In an interview with a number of local media in Iraq, Tueller said, "The meeting of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and US President Donald Trump shows the strength of the relationship between the two countries," while expressing his hope that "the visit will create momentum in the relationship between the two countries."

The American ambassador emphasized that "there is a lot of misunderstanding about the relationship of the international coalition and the Iraqi government," pointing out that "there are extremist voices that reach the point of launching missiles to target the military and diplomatic presence, and this does not represent the Iraqi people or the interest of Iraq."

Tueller warned that "if this speech defeated the interest of Iraq, this would prompt a review of many issues not only between Iraq and America, but between Iraq and the international coalition in general."

This is the strongest statement by a US official, after Washington practiced silence over the past months about launching Katyusha rockets at its embassy in the Green Zone in Baghdad or the whereabouts of its forces in Camp Taji or Baghdad airport.

T/S

ANHA