The ongoing political divisions in Lebanon appear to be a significant obstacle to advancing the efforts of the Quintet in bridging the gap between the positions of various political and parliamentary parties. This situation undermines the continuous endeavors made by the five ambassadors to encourage the Lebanese to come together for consultations under the parliament dome and agree on a roadmap to achieve the presidential election.
There also seem to be discrepancies in outlining certain steps that continue to hinder reaching a stage of consultation in a timely manner. The most critical of these discrepancies concerns the fate of the current candidates, Sleiman Frangieh and Jihad Azour, should an agreement not be reached on one of them, which is the expected scenario. The opposition has proposed moving on to other candidate names, thereby excluding the previous two from the presidential race, while the Resistance team insists on keeping both names on the list of candidates for the presidential battle. This situation clearly complicates the efforts to pursue a third option without ambiguity or stumbling blocks.
The ambassadors of the Quintet are keen not to delve into the candidates' names, adhering to what was agreed upon among the five foreign ministers in Doha last year, leaving Lebanese lawmakers to bear their constitutional and national responsibilities in electing the country's president. As for the names of the candidates that occasionally circulate in speculation, some of them stem from personal interpretations, and most come from malicious leaks from local political kitchens aimed at undermining the names of opponents.
However, the complexities of internal disputes in Lebanon have not deterred Paris from continuing the efforts initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron during meetings with several Lebanese leaders, which were followed up by his personal envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian during his multiple visits to Beirut last year. French Ambassador Magro confirms that the French president is always keen to provide all possible support to Lebanon to help the Lebanese overcome the crises they face and restore the concept of a state that embraces all Lebanese.
In this context, it has been learned that the French presidential envoy Le Drian will arrive in Beirut next Tuesday, May 28, to present the results of his previous tours and discuss with the Quintet ambassadors what has been achieved during their meetings with party and parliamentary bloc leaders. He will also hold consultations with senior officials, primarily Presidents Nabih Berri and Najib Mikati, along with meetings with political leaders. The French envoy's visit is coordinated with the American side, as Le Drian visited Washington and met with U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein, where the presidential file was the center of focus in the meeting.
A diplomatic source told Al-Liwaa newspaper that Le Drian's arrival at this particular time will serve as a lever to rescue the efforts of the Quintet ambassadors, who have exhausted all proposals capable of formulating a settlement based on the principles outlined in the Doha statement that encourages the Lebanese and urges them to complete the presidential elections as soon as possible. It emphasizes that the president should maintain neutrality among the political factions, foster good and open relations with all party sides, and be free from the corruption cliques that have bankrupted the state, possessing the competence and economic experience necessary to positively engage with the rescue government program, ensuring that their rise to the presidency does not provoke any particular axis or represent a victory for another.
The diplomatic source refrained from answering a question about what "rescuing the efforts of the Quintet" means, only indicating that the ambassadors of the Quintet met the day before yesterday at the home of Egyptian Ambassador Alaa Moussa, a meeting that was not announced and did not result in a statement, with Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari absent from it.
