Barrack meets Rahi, says everybody doing their best

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met Wednesday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, after he met on Tuesday and Monday with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Speaker Nabih Berri and a host of political, religious and financial figures.

Barrack said in a statement from Bkerki that the situation in Lebanon is complicated but assured that everybody is doing their best.

He said that Speaker Berri is doing what he can despite the complexity of the situation. Berri for his part said his meeting with Barrack was "excellent" and that he is optimistic because he felt Barrack was. "This positive atmosphere helped relieve the fear that had prevailed over the past two days," Berri told al-Modon newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

Berri said there is no new agreement. "There is an existing (ceasefire) agreement that we are trying to implement to stop the (Israeli) aggression."

Barrack's visit to Lebanon comes amid ongoing domestic and international pressure for Hezbollah to give up its remaining arsenal after a bruising war with Israel that ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement in November.