After a complete pause in efforts to resolve the vacuum in Lebanon’s presidency over the summer, the ambassadors of the international Quintet Committee resumed their meetings to help resolve the impasse, which will hit the two-year mark next month.
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari, US Ambassador Lisa Johnson, French Ambassador Hervé Magro, Qatari Ambassador Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian Ambassador Alaa Moussa met at the French Embassy in Beirut to discuss the situation.
Diplomatic sources, who were briefed on the meeting, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ambassadors updated each other on the outcomes of their previous rounds of talks with Lebanese leaders and agreed to continue discussions in the coming weeks.
The sources added that French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Beirut this month, or early October at the latest, to follow up on his meeting with Saudi Royal Court advisor Nizar Al-Aloula earlier this month.
“The participants also discussed the regional situation, emphasizing that the current developments require Lebanese officials to come to an understanding to elect a president because no one will offer them ready-made solutions,” the sources added.
While no statement was issued by the attendees, sources involved in the presidential file suggested that the ambassadors will soon resume their talks with political leaders and heads of parliamentary blocs, each separately.
The diplomats will focus on two main points: the need to separate the Lebanese presidency from the Gaza war and its outcomes, as well as from the US presidential elections, noting that Michel Aoun was elected president two months before the US elections in 2016, revealed the sources.
According to available information, the ambassadors have not yet requested any meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri or caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Aoun’s term ended in October 2022 with political blocs failing to elect a successor. Bickering among the parties has thwarted attempts to fill the vacuum.
