Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Breakthrough Reached in Lebanon’s Presidential Crisis 

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) shakes hands with Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), the former French foreign minister and special envoy for Lebanon, at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 July 2023. (EPA)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) shakes hands with Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), the former French foreign minister and special envoy for Lebanon, at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 July 2023. (EPA)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Breakthrough Reached in Lebanon’s Presidential Crisis 

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) shakes hands with Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), the former French foreign minister and special envoy for Lebanon, at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 July 2023. (EPA)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) shakes hands with Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), the former French foreign minister and special envoy for Lebanon, at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 July 2023. (EPA)

French presidential envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian kicked off a Tuesday a new visit to the country in the hopes of achieving a breakthrough in the impasse over the presidential elections.

He started his three-day trip by meeting parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who described the talks as good.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Le Drian briefed him on the talks that were held by the quintet on Lebanon in Doha.

Berri said a breakthrough in the deadlock has been reached, but declined to offer more details about his optimism.

He explained that it was not appropriate for him or others to speak in detail at the moment since Le Drian hasn’t completed his meetings with Lebanese officials.

French diplomatic sources were more cautious, warning against “excessive optimism”. They told Asharq Al-Awsat that the conditions were “constructive”, denying that the envoy had proposed a new initiative to end the crisis.

Lebanon has been without a president since October when the term of Michel Aoun ended. Ongoing political squabbling has led to the current vacuum. Numerous presidential elections sessions have been held, but no candidate managed to secure enough votes to be declared a winner.

Le Drian also met on Tuesday with head of the Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel and head of the Progressive Socialist Party MP Taymour Jumblatt.

He is scheduled to meet with several officials and party leaders whom he had met on his previous visit to Lebanon around a month ago.

Since then, the quintet had met in the Qatari capital, calling on Lebanon to intensify efforts to elect a president, who would unite the country and prioritize its interests and carry out crucial economic reforms.

Meanwhile, the “Shiite duo” of Hezbollah and Berri’s Amal Movement have continued to slam “foreign meddling” in Lebanon, most notably in wake of the quintet talks, which were seen as dealing a blow to the French initiative that backed the presidential nomination of Marada movement leader Suleiman Franjieh. The duo also backs his candidacy.

The quintet also rejected the call for dialogue made by the duo, saying it would not be productive at this time.

Hezbollah MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan said on Tuesday that no progress has been made over the presidential elections.

“Are you still expecting someone from abroad to come up with a solution that the Lebanese can reach among themselves through understanding?” he asked.

Head of Berri’s Development and Liberation parliamentary bloc MP Hani Kobeisy expressed his rejection of “foreign decisions”, adding: “We will reject foreign sanctions that will starve our people. We will not accept a quintet or sextet that holds dialogue instead of us and wants to impose its decisions on us.”

“We have always called for dialogue and continue to do so in spite of the rejection expressed by some parties,” he added.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said: “Along with its allies, the LF is waging the battle of reclaiming the republic from its kidnappers, by preventing the ‘resistance axis’ from controlling the presidency.”

“We know we have a long road ahead of us in liberating Lebanon from its kidnappers and restoring its state institutions, but we are determined to forge ahead without hesitation until the Lebanese people achieve their goals of a dignified life in a prosperous and sovereign nation where rule of law prevails,” he added.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.