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Saudi Ambassador Calls on the Lebanese to Elect a President

Saudi Ambassador Calls on the Lebanese to Elect a President
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Saudi Ambassador Calls on the Lebanese to Elect a President

Saudi Ambassador Calls on the Lebanese to Elect a President

The Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid al-Bukhari, renewed his call to speed up the Lebanese presidential elections.

Bukhari met Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday during his tour with Lebanese political figures.

"We share the same desire with the international community to see the completion of the presidential elections [in Lebanon] as soon as possible," Bukhari stressed following the meeting.

"I want Lebanon to be, as it was, an oasis of thought and culture of life, and for its people to enjoy prosperity."

Meanwhile, political parties are yet to agree on the presidential candidates. The Shiite duo of Hezbollah and the Amal movement support the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Frangieh, while the opposition still needs to agree on a candidate.

If the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, joins the opposition in rejecting Franjieh's candidacy, it would be reflected positively in their favor.

Sources of the Lebanese Forces party stressed that the opposition parties are in talks to unify their position, confirming they have yet to agree on a nominee.

They told Asharq Al-Awsat that if the Lebanese Forces could agree with the Free Patriotic Movement, they would secure the parliamentary majority with over 65 votes.

However, they indicated that Bassil has made a decision, realizing that agreeing with the opposition puts Hezbollah before the fait accompli. He is trying to ensure Hezbollah would back down from supporting Frangieh.

The sources renewed their call on Speaker Nabih Berri to hold open sessions to elect the president.

They believe holding open sessions would lead to naming a candidate who embodies the aspirations of the Lebanese and not a candidate of the axis of resistance.

They accused the axis of resistance of misleading the public, claiming a positive atmosphere in favor of its candidate, despite local and international conditions.

Asked about the Lebanese Forces' boycott of the election session if it favored Frangieh, the sources indicated that the other parties couldn't have more than 50 votes.

The opposition is currently divided between supporting former ministers Jihad Azour and Ziad Baroud, army commander General Joseph Aoun, and former lawmaker Salah Honien.

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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)

With growing influence after its recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists in 2023, Azerbaijan is using its close ties with Israel and Türkiye to defuse tensions between the regional foes in Syria.

Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy adviser Hikmet Hajiyev told AFP that Baku has hosted more than three rounds of talks between Türkiye and Israel, who are both operating in Syria to reduce what they see as security threats.

“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish journalists in Baku on a visit organized by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council. “Both Türkiye and Israel trust us.”

The overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad sparked security concerns in Israel.

It has since staged hundreds of strikes deep inside Syria, the latest on Friday, to allegedly stop advanced weapons falling into the hands of Syria’s extremists and to protect the Druze minority.

Israel has accused Ankara of seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, raising fears of a confrontation.

In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev is considered a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He has consistently aligned himself with Ankara’s positions on key international matters, including the Syrian issue.

Azerbaijan also enjoys good relations with Israel, which is very reliant on Azerbaijani oil, and is a major arms supplier to Baku.

And now Baku, which has established contacts with Syria’s new rulers, is pushing quiet diplomacy by facilitating technical talks between Türkiye and Israel.

“We are successful if the two parties agree on a common model that respects each other’s concerns,” Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, told AFP.

“Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern,” he said.

Türkiye wants to control northern Syria but also to “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases to ensure security around Damascus, he added.

In facilitating Türkiye-Israel dialogue on Syria, Azerbaijan is playing a “strategic role,” said Zaur Mammadov, chairman of Baku Political Scientists Club.

“(It) reflects Azerbaijan’s growing influence as a mediator... among regional actors,” he said.

Azerbaijan fought two wars with arch-foe Armenia for control of the disputed Karabakh region -- one in the 1990s and another in 2020 -- before it managed to seize the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.