Consensus on Lebanese Presidency Not Reached at Paris Meeting

Despite the secrecy surrounding the Paris meeting and its results the day before yesterday, An-Nahar learned from high-ranking sources that the French-Saudi meeting on Lebanon did not come out with an agreement that could be marketed to the concerned countries as a paper for discussion. The discrepancy between the two parties remained.

And in the information of “An-Nahar” that Paris is still looking for a formula to get Lebanon out of the impasse of the vacuum that is based on a reformist government with an attempt to reach a political majority to elect the president and form a homogeneous government. Paris does not object to Suleiman Franjieh becoming president after he presents clear guarantees and commitments, especially by not using the blocking third and not obstructing reforms, but rather proceeding with them. Paris does not oppose agreeing on another candidate, as it does not have a preference or bias towards a specific figure, but it wants to get Lebanon out of the impasse. As for the Saudi side, which agrees with Paris on the need to expedite Lebanon’s extrication from the crisis, it refuses that the candidate be “affiliated with Hezbollah” even if it provides guarantees, but the Kingdom also does not present names acceptable to it, but rather agrees to a candidate who has a political majority and is a reformer, and Paris wished The Saudi side, which restored relations with Iran, must test the results of the agreement in the interests of Saudi Arabia and the region, including Lebanon. An-Nahar learned that the concerns of French President Emmanuel Macron did not prevent his personal follow-up and communication with Lebanese leaders in an effort to get the country out of the impasse.

Sources indicated that the bilateral meeting paves the way for a new meeting of the five countries that met in Paris on February 6, namely the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar, which is supposed to be held in the coming weeks, and will present in a more expanded form the presidential file and the Lebanese political, financial and economic crisis and ways to address it.

The meeting delved into the file of humanitarian and relief aid for the Lebanese people through the Saudi-French fund, which was agreed to be established between the two countries months ago.

Internally, a member of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, Representative Hussein Hajj Hassan, said, “Our support for Franjieh’s candidacy is based on clear rules in our political work, which is the adoption of a serious and natural candidate who works to reach him, and we support him and work to deliver him.” He continued, during a political meeting organized by the Public Relations Department of “Hezbollah” in the Bekaa Valley, that “any party in the House of Representatives cannot alone secure a quorum of 86 deputies to elect the president, so there is no option for the political forces and parliamentary blocs except dialogue, discussion, and calm and purposeful understanding.” Unfortunately, the second party insists on rejecting dialogue and understanding, and by refusing dialogue it knows that providing a quorum is not available to any party. This means that it insists on obstruction, and therefore it is responsible for the exacerbation of crises in Lebanon.

At the presidential level as well, attention is drawn to any move by Franjieh, who is still waiting to announce his candidacy and program officially, noting that press information indicated today that he visited the Levant in the past few days, where he heard that “he will be the next president of the republic or that he will have the final say in merit.” .

The radars also monitor the positions that will be issued by the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, in his sermon today, at a time when his envoy, Archbishop Antoine Bou Najm, continues his tours of Christian leaders. The shepherd invited the Christian deputies to a day of spiritual seclusion and prayer, next Wednesday, April 5, in Bethany in Harissa, hoping to reunite the disputants over prayer and a table of love.