On His 3rd Visit to Beirut, Macron Faces 'Thorny Problem' Between Aoun, Hariri

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a news conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon on September 1, 2020. © Gonzalo Fuentes, REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a news conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon on September 1, 2020. © Gonzalo Fuentes, REUTERS
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On His 3rd Visit to Beirut, Macron Faces 'Thorny Problem' Between Aoun, Hariri

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a news conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon on September 1, 2020. © Gonzalo Fuentes, REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a news conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon on September 1, 2020. © Gonzalo Fuentes, REUTERS

French President Emmanuel Macron’s third visit to Beirut on Dec. 22-23 comes amid a worsening dispute between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, which has so far obstructed the birth of a new government.

During his stay, Macron is scheduled to visit the UNIFIL forces in South Lebanon and spend the night before Christmas Eve with the French battalion.

As part of the protocol visit, a meeting with Aoun is currently on the agenda. But the Lebanese political class’ failure to implement the French initiative might push the French president to conduct a series of meetings with other leaders in an attempt to break the deadlock.

In this regard, political sources, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, expect Macron to meet with other Lebanese officials to prevent Aoun from employing his exclusive encounter with the French president as a means to blame the other parties for the failure to form a new government.

Moreover, the sources believe that if Macron only meets with the Lebanese president as part of his protocol visit, some parties would consider that he withdrew his initiative, which would affect his role in the Mediterranean region.

The sources, on the other hand, confirmed that Macron would not get into the trouble of searching for reasons for the failure of his initiative, and would directly go to the essence of the problem and the urgent need to form the government as soon as possible to stop the economic and financial collapse.

The sources also said that the escalating clash between Aoun and Hariri came to confirm that the “political chemistry” between them was still missing and that their mutual trust was “lost”, adding that extraordinary effort should be made to restore matters to their normal course.



Lebanon PM Says Hopes for Ceasefire With Israel in 'Coming Hours or Days'

This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's press office shows Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivering a statement to the press in Beirut on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's press office shows Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivering a statement to the press in Beirut on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
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Lebanon PM Says Hopes for Ceasefire With Israel in 'Coming Hours or Days'

This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's press office shows Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivering a statement to the press in Beirut on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's press office shows Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivering a statement to the press in Beirut on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office / AFP)

Lebanon's prime minister said US envoy Amos Hochstein had signaled during a phone call Wednesday that a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war was possible before US elections are held on November 5.
"The call today with Hochstein suggested to me that perhaps we could reach a ceasefire in the coming days, before the fifth" of November, Najib Mikati said in a televised interview with Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed.
Hochstein was heading to Israel on Wednesday to discuss conditions for a ceasefire with Hezbollah, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Hezbollah's new leader Naim Qassem on Wednesday said the group would agree to a ceasefire with Israel under acceptable terms, but added that a viable deal has yet to be presented, reported AFP.
"We are doing our best... to have a ceasefire within the coming hours or days," Mikati told Al-Jadeed, adding that he was "cautiously optimistic".
Mikati said Hezbollah is no longer linking a ceasefire in Lebanon to a truce in Gaza, but criticized the group over its "late" reversal.
Previously, Hezbollah had repeatedly declared it would stop its attacks on Israel only if a ceasefire was reached in Gaza.
However, Qassem on Wednesday said the group would accept a ceasefire under conditions deemed "appropriate and suitable", without any mention of the Palestinian territory.
Mikati said a ceasefire would be linked to the implementation of the United Nations resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Security Council Resolution 1701 states that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in southern Lebanon, while demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.
"The Lebanese army is ready to strengthen its presence in southern Lebanon" and ensure that the only weapons and military infrastructure in the area are those controlled by the state, Mikati said.
He also said he would continue to try to shield Lebanon's only airport from attacks by Israel.
"I can guarantee that we will not give anyone an excuse to undermine our security or our air traffic," Mikati said.
Aid deliveries from Iran, Iraq and Algeria can "come by sea", he said, in order not to give Israel a pretext to launch strikes.
Mikati also said it was too dangerous to try to reopen Lebanon's main land border with Syria, which was put out of service by an Israeli strike this month.
"We sent a bulldozer to fill the crater at the crossing and it was bombed," Mikati said.
"We will not expose anyone to danger before we have full guarantees."