Lebanon, presidential elections make significant progress

Although political observers do not expect an imminent turnaround, contacts related to the Lebanese presidential election have registered considerable progress. In this regard, French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian met with Saudi cabinet adviser Nizar Al-Aloula in Riyadh to discuss the Lebanese presidential election dossier. Discussions will continue during the quintuple meeting between representatives of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France and the United States as Al-Manar television reported that the French side is no longer interested in proposing a solution independently.

Locally, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil announced that dialogue with Hezbollah has been restored without preconditions. This announcement was also met by the reiteration of the deputy head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, on his request to hold a national dialogue to end the presidential vacuum in Lebanon.