Bassil Receives Letter from Kerry as Officials Race Against Time to Resolve Presidential Crisis
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil has discussed with his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal the presidential deadlock as al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri intensified his meetings to avoid a vacuum, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper said that Bassil held long discussions with al-Faisal on Tuesday, which required him to stay another day in Riyadh.
Bassil, who is a Free Patriotic Movement official, returned to Beirut on Wednesday.
In the afternoon, Bassil met with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the latter handed the FM a letter from his American counterpart John Kerry.
But the content of the letter was not revealed, the state-run National News Agency noted.
The meeting between Bassil and Hale lasted for 40 minutes, after which the United States' diplomat left without making any statement, the NNA added.
The FPM official also met with French Ambassador to Lebanon Patrice Paoli earlier in the morning.
Meanwhile, Hariri is expected to intensify his meetings in Paris with officials involved in the presidential process in a race against time to avoid vacuum at the country's top Christian post.
President Michel Suleiman's six-year term expires on May 25. But lawmakers have failed in three rounds to elect a new head of state over differences between the March 8 and 14 alliances.
The Hizbullah-led March 8 camp has also reacted negatively to a proposal to make a constitutional amendment to keep Suleiman in power pending the election of a new president.
Speaker Nabih Berri told his visitors on Tuesday that there was “nothing tangible” with regards to the efforts to resolve the presidential deadlock despite the “continuous contact” between FPM chief Michel Aoun and Hariri.
He accused certain parties without naming them of seeking to encourage foreign meddling in the polls.
Some sides are “trying to kill time with the aim of inviting foreign interference,” he was quoted as saying.
“But Saudi Arabia, Iran, the U.S. and European countries want the presidential elections to be held on time,” the speaker said, adding “they don't back any candidate.”
The fourth round of the elections that is set to take place on Thursday is expected to meet the same fate of its predecessors unless a last-minute deal between the rivals changes the course of the polls.
The March 8 alliance, except for Berri's bloc, has been boycotting the parliamentary sessions, resulting in a lack of quorum.
G.K./S.D.B.
H.K.
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