President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday stressed that Lebanon can confront the repercussions of the turmoil in the region, but warned of the domestic threats.

“The outer storm around us can be warded off, but the threat comes from the little despicable storms inside the country,” the president said during a tour of the Jbeil region.

The Mustaqbal bloc noted on Tuesday that former minister Michel Samaha’s arrest uncovers to the entire world the Syrian regime’s “criminal intentions” towards Lebanon.

It therefore demanded after its weekly meeting “the suspension of the security agreement between Lebanon and Syria.”

Maronite Patriach Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Tuesday the importance of the national dialogue, saying that officials who do not attend the all-party talks will be on the losing end in Lebanon.

He said: “The national dialogue tackles national causes and Lebanon’s salvation is linked to the talks.”

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Tuesday the importance of holding the national dialogue which he said is the right place to discuss the national defense strategy.

He said that Thursday’s all-party talks would focus on the strategy in accordance with the official invitation to the national dialogue and the statements issued in the first and second sessions.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel hailed on Monday the efforts exerted by Internal Security Chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and head of the Information Branch Col. Wissam al-Hassan for averting a plot targeting Lebanon, warning against any attempt to politicize the investigations over the issue.

“It is a humanitarian achievement that saved the lives of innocent people,” Gemayel told reporters during a press conference at his residence in Bikfaya.

Speaker Nabih Berri lashed out at the March 14 alliance over its uncertain decision concerning its participation in the national dialogue session scheduled to convene on Thursday.

He slammed in comments published in As Safir newspaper on Monday the actions of the opposition describing them as “unacceptable,” noting that the dialogue can’t remain the “prisoner of the alliances’ mood.”

Several March 14 camp officials lauded the discovery of a Syrian plot to create strife in Lebanon, as revealed by former minister and MP Michel Samaha’s arrest, saying the country should cut ties with Syria, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

MP Marwan Hamadeh hoped that Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour “would highlight the development to his Arab counterparts at the Jeddah conference.”

The March 14 camp is seeking to take judicial action against former minister and MP Michel Samaha, who was charged with planning attacks in Lebanon, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

Informed sources told the daily that the camp will attempt to persuade President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati to suspend diplomatic and official ties with Syria in light of revelations that Samaha had sought to carry out the attacks at Syrian orders.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Thursday on a two-day trip where he will meet with senior officials, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday.

It said that the Syrian developments will be at the center of his discussions, with the French minister stressing the need for Lebanon to provide aid to Syrian refugees despite the Lebanese government’s policy of distancing itself from the events in its neighboring country.

The head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora is scheduled to hold talks on Monday with President Michel Suleiman to inform him of the March 14 camp’s position on the national dialogue, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

It said that the former premier will likely inform the president of the camp’s ongoing boycott of the dialogue, which is set to resume on Thursday.