The initiative of the Group of Five countries continues, and it is set to resume its mission by meeting a delegation of ambassadors from the five countries with a group of political leaders in Lebanon, including President Michel Aoun and others, based on the policy of urging the election of a president for the republic and seizing the expected ceasefire to try and make a breakthrough in the presidential impasse, according to "Nidaa al-Watan."
This is summarized by diplomatic circles familiar with the five-nation initiative, who categorize all rumors about disputes within the group as organized and incorrect leaks, intended to cover some factions' roles in causing the presidential vacuum. The circles assert that the Group of Five does not have the authority to impose any options on the Lebanese, but works according to the logic of accelerating solutions. Therefore, no one should expect these countries to name a president for the Lebanese, nor should anyone expect them to take their place. Rather, their role will be to assist in establishing a roadmap that leads to electing a president, all without diving into names at this time or any time soon.
This does not mean, according to the circles, that Qatar has not proposed a specific name; however, this remains a Qatari choice and will not translate within the group into an endorsement of that name. The circles indicate that French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Lebanon soon, aiming to define the characteristics of a president, which will be followed by launching a consultative campaign among the Lebanese political forces, without insisting on the necessity of holding a dialogue table, as desired by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Following the consultations, it is expected that the Speaker will set a series of consecutive and open sessions for electing the president.
The diplomatic circles reveal that ambassadors from the five countries have candidly informed Speaker Berri that the idea of dialogue may not be feasible since some political forces oppose it, considering it unconstitutional. They indicated that a dialogue table is not a mandatory condition for electing a president, but that they can resort to a defined timeframe for open consultations, followed by moving on to electing the president. The circles noted that the impression of the ambassadors concerning the meeting with Berri was positive according to "Nidaa al-Watan."
In summary, the roadmap has become clear: consultations followed by open sessions, or else the Group of Five will proceed to implement the fifth clause mentioned in the statement of the five countries' ministers in Qatar, which confirms the imposition of severe sanctions on anyone who obstructs the presidential entitlement. In this regard, the circles emphasize that there is no need for all the speculations hoping to take advantage of the absence of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the group again; the reason for the non-meeting is limited to the fact that nothing has emerged that necessitates holding this meeting, but the resolutions made in Qatar are still in effect.
There is no expected formula to include Iran in the Group of Five, the circles say, but on the other hand, communications remain open with Tehran, which refers the presidential file to Hezbollah. In contrast, Hezbollah shows flexible signals, as evidenced by its agreement to extend the term of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, which the circles consider a precursor to expected flexibility in the presidential file.
