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French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salma, “reiterated the need to put a rapid end to the institutional political vacancy in Lebanon which remains the major obstacle to resolving the severe socio-economic crisis” in the country.

On Friday, Mr Macron hosted Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris. The French Presidency did not immediately issue a statement at the end of the meeting, and the two French and Saudi leaders made no statement to the press. It was only in the evening that the Élysée Palace reported on the points on which Mr Macron and Mr ben Salman had discussed. As far as Lebanon is concerned, they merely “recalled the need to put a rapid end to the institutional political vacancy in Lebanon, which remains the major obstacle to resolving the severe socio-economic crisis”, according to an official statement from the Élysée Palace.

The visit of Saudi Arabia’s 37-year-old Crown Prince, who is widely known as “MBS,” came less than a year after his last visit to the Elysée Palace and points to the warm relationship between Paris and Riyadh.

Macron encouraged MBS to use Saudi Arabia’s influence within Lebanon’s Sunni community, in addition to the recent Saudi-Iranian raprochement, to break the deadlock which has lead to Lebanon’s repeated failure to elect a new president.

Last month, the French leader appointed his former Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian as his personal envoy for Lebanon in a new bid to end the political crisis. The veteran politician is due to visit soon.

Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran are also in the throes of an unexpected rapprochement, brokered by Beijing, which has caused huge interest among Western governments still seeking to revive a 2015 deal on the Iranian nuclear program.

“In Saudi Arabia’s normalization with Iran, there is potential for easing tensions in the region,” a French official told AFP, expressing the hope that it could also smooth the path to the election of a Lebanese president.