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The ambassadors of the quintet (United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar) held an evaluation meeting on Wednesday at the American Embassy in Awkar, to assess the results of the contacts they have already made with the various political parties on the issue of the presidential election, and to decide on the follow-up to their mission of good offices.
This is the second meeting they have held after completing a first round of consultations with Lebanese political leaders, in an attempt to find a breakthrough on the presidential issue.
The first meeting was held on April 16 at the residence of the Egyptian ambassador, Alaa Moussa.
The five ambassadors consider that Lebanon urgently needs a new President of the Republic. They are now convinced that the Lebanese presidential election is linked to the war in Gaza which is, in their opinion, extremely disadvantageous for Lebanon. They believe that the Lebanese must realize that it is in their interest to elect a president before the war in Gaza ends. If the stalemate continues and a ceasefire is reached in the Palestinian enclave, the subsequent negotiations will take place but without Lebanon. The United States, France, Saudi Arabia, and even Egypt insist that in the absence of a president, Beirut will have no place in the talks that directly concern it, since they must address, among other things, the modalities for restoring stability both in Gaza and on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
During their meeting in Awkar, the five diplomats discussed the steps they could take in the coming weeks in accordance with their initiative, while recognizing that it may not be successful.
According to different sources, the ambassadors’ action is similar to that of the National Moderation Bloc’s initiative. The bloc is in favor of informal parliamentary consultations on the presidential election. At the end of these consultations, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nabih Berry, would convene an electoral session with successive rounds until the election of a president.
