Le Drian Concludes New Round of Presidential Talks in Lebanon

Le Drian met with Sunni deputies at the Saudi Ambassador’s residence in Beirut. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Le Drian met with Sunni deputies at the Saudi Ambassador’s residence in Beirut. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
20

Le Drian Concludes New Round of Presidential Talks in Lebanon

Le Drian met with Sunni deputies at the Saudi Ambassador’s residence in Beirut. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Le Drian met with Sunni deputies at the Saudi Ambassador’s residence in Beirut. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

French Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian is set to conclude his mission in Beirut on Friday with a second meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri, amid expectations that he would return to Lebanon to facilitate the election of a new president.

The Lebanese parliament has been unable to elect a new president for the country since the end of the term of Michel Aoun on Nov. 1, 2022.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Berri described the discussions with the French envoy as “excellent”. He stressed that dialogue was not only a demand made by Le Drian, “but rather an Arab and international request because it is the only way out of this crisis.”

During his visit to Beirut, Le Drian met separately with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai in Bkirki, and with a number of independent deputies at the French embassy in Beirut. He also held talks with Sunni MPs, in the presence of Grand Mufti Abdullatif Derian and Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari at the latter’s residence in Beirut.

MP Ashraf Rifi said the French envoy’s meeting with Sunni representatives was aimed at facilitating the process of electing a president. He pointed to efforts that might lead to a settlement on the election of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun.

Referring to Berri’s call for a national dialogue to resolve the presidential crisis, Rifi said: “We expect that the dialogue will be held with whoever attends, and then open election sessions will be called for to elect a president. It is likely that the choice would go towards the Army Commander.”

Meanwhile, the head of foreign relations in the Lebanese Forces party (LF), former minister Richard Koyoumjian, who was present at the meeting that brought together the French envoy and LF chief Samir Geagea, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the French initiative has collapsed.

Parliamentary sources said that Le Drian is expected to visit Berri on Friday to inform him of the outcome of his talks.



Remains of 30 People Believed Killed by ISIS Found in Syria in a Search by Qatar and FBI 

 Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
TT
20

Remains of 30 People Believed Killed by ISIS Found in Syria in a Search by Qatar and FBI 

 Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)

The remains of 30 people believed to have been killed by the ISIS group have been found in a remote Syrian town in a search led by Qatari search teams and the FBI, according to a statement from Qatar on Monday.

The Qatari internal security forces said the FBI had requested the search, and that DNA tests are currently underway to determine the identities of the people. The Qatari agency did not whom the American intelligence and security agency is trying to find.

Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by ISIS militants who had controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq for half a decade. The extremist group lost most of its territory in late 2017 and was declared defeated in 2019.

Since then, dozens of gravesites and mass graves have been discovered in northern Syria containing remains and bodies of people ISIS had abducted over the years.

American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig are among those killed by ISIS.

John Cantlie, a British correspondent, was abducted alongside Foley in 2012, and was last seen alive in one of the extremist group's propaganda videos in 2016.

The search took place in the town of Dabiq, near Syria's northern border with Türkiye.

Mass graves have also found in areas previously controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who was ousted in a lightning insurgency last December, ending his family's half-century rule. For years, the Assads used their notorious security and intelligence agencies to crack down on dissidents, many who have gone missing.

The United Nations in 2021 estimated that over 130,000 Syrians were taken away and disappeared during the peaceful uprising that began in 2011 and descended into a 13-year civil war.