Lebanon’s Politicians Intensify Meetings over Presidential Crisis

Franjieh visited Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Franjieh visited Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Lebanon’s Politicians Intensify Meetings over Presidential Crisis

Franjieh visited Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Franjieh visited Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari on Thursday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Lebanon’s political scene is witnessing extensive political contacts and meetings over the presidential vacuum, especially among the parties opposing the election of the head of Marada Movement, Sleiman Franjieh.

On Thursday, Franjieh - whose candidacy is backed by Hezbollah and the Amal Movement - visited Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari.

While no statement was issued following the meeting, the head of Marada tweeted: “We thank his Excellency, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the invitation. The meeting was cordial and excellent.”

Bukhari later met with a delegation from the National Moderation Bloc.

Meanwhile, the head of the Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel, met on Thursday with MP Wael Bou Faour, member of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc.

Gemayel stressed that extensive contacts were underway to reach a breakthrough in the presidential crisis.

Parliamentary sources in the opposition told Asharq Al-Awsat that three names were under discussion. They include Army Commander General Joseph Aoun and former ministers Ziad Baroud and Jihad Azour.

While the sources expressed optimism about the possibility of reaching an agreement soon, they pointed to the opposition’s caution against a possible parliamentary confrontation if the other side insisted on Franjieh, saying that the results could turn in his favor in the election session if quorum is secured.

Democratic Gathering MP Hadi Abul-Hassan stressed the need to agree on a candidate that would gain the support of all sides.

He explained that Franjieh’s supporters should “take a step back” and agree on a consensual president, noting that no side has so far secured the parliamentary quorum of 86 deputies to elect a president.



Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.