The ambassadors of the Quintet Committee (United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar) in Lebanon held their second coordination meeting on Tuesday afternoon at the French Ambassador’s residence (Résidence des Pins).
The aim of this meeting is to discuss means for resolving the political crisis in Lebanon. It’s part of the “normal action of the Quintet in Lebanon,” according to diplomatic sources.
The meeting was prompted both by the return of the Saudi ambassador, Walid Bukhari, from Riyadh and the alarming escalation of the war between Hezbollah and Israel, with Tel Aviv expanding the scope of its attacks to Lebanon.
This is Beirut has learned that the five ambassadors will resume their contacts with Lebanese officials. They first met with the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, on January 30 to push for the election of a president of the Republic.
These contacts are also intended to prepare for a possible meeting of the Quintet members who will discuss possible solutions to the presidential deadlock before the arrival of French envoy Jean-Yves le Drian in Beirut for a new conciliatory mission. According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa, Le Drian is expected to visit the Lebanese capital during the first half of March, before the Ramadan fasting month.
The French envoy recently held discussions in Riyadh and Cairo focused on the Lebanese presidential file.
According to the same source, Quintet diplomats are expected to meet with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and “perhaps” with the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General Joseph Aoun, one of the main candidates for the presidential election.
Their objective remains the same, namely to push the Lebanese to elect a president without delay and to agree on this matter.
For the moment, there is no veto on any particular person and no favored candidate, the same source indicates, explaining that the situation in southern Lebanon and the region must be taken into account, meaning the election of a president is needed so that the latter will represent the country in the event of possible negotiations.
However, the future president should be endowed with the qualities that allow him to manage the country in the current crisis period.
Amal and Hezbollah, who continue to cling to the candidacy of Marada leader Sleiman Frangieh, seem willing to “resume the path that could lead to the presidential election,” said the source, without further details. Will it be through dialogue or an inter-party consultation mechanism? This remains to be seen. The same source noted, “All this must lead to something very clear, according to Le Drian’s mission. That is, there must be successive parliamentary sessions to lead to the election of a president.” According to the source, “the idea of the Quintet is to create this momentum.”
The French embassy issued later during the evening a press release stating that “the ambassadors of the Quintet met on Tuesday to reaffirm their determination to facilitate and support the election of a President”. According to the text, “they exchanged on the latest developments and contacts that took place in Lebanon and in the region. They also discussed the next steps to be taken”.
