Suleiman Traveling to France Soon for Talks with Hollande
President Michel Suleiman is expected to travel to France at the end of June or in early July to hold talks with his French counterpart Francois Hollande, reported the daily An Nahar on Thursday.
It said that the visit will serve as an opportunity for the president to mark a new beginning of Lebanese-French ties, which was suggested by Hollande himself.
The two officials had held a telephone conversation recently when the French president contacted Suleiman to condole him over the death of “Dean of Journalists” Ghassan Tueni.
The presidents had also discussed the situation in Syria and its impact on Lebanon and the region.
Hollande had asserted to Suleiman that France and its allies reject the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty by Syria, praising Lebanon’s harboring of Syrian refugees who have taken shelter in the country to escape the regime’s crackdown against protests.
The French official had also hailed Suleiman’s efforts to resume the national dialogue in Lebanon, which were materialized with the resumption of the all-party talks on June 11.
Suleiman had held talks on Wednesday with a number of officials, including the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad, on the preparations for the upcoming national dialogue session, reported As Safir newspaper on Thursday.
It said that the all-party talks will kick off with discussions on the defense strategy or even the current situation in the country in light of the recent security instability.
The next dialogue session is set to be held on June 25.
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