Jumblatt: The US-French Dispute in New York Was Not Related to Lebanon

Former MP Walid Jumblatt stated that the US-French dispute in New York was not related to Lebanon, but rather to the situation in Niger and the African countries where France is facing a significant crisis. He indicated that the main issue for France with the United States currently pertains to the latter's rejection of Paris's proposal for a UN military intervention in Niger. According to the newspaper "Al-Akhbar," Jumblatt also mentioned that the Lebanese issue was a secondary point in the US-French discussions, influenced by the prevailing negativity between the two sides. Jumblatt believes that if France has decided to align with Saudi Arabia by stepping back from the initiative to elect Sleiman Frangieh, Paris is not inclined to make free concessions to the Americans by endorsing their candidate, General Joseph Aoun. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia itself does not wish to offer free gifts to the Qataris that would allow them to strengthen their influence in Lebanon without any gain for Saudi Arabia.