Hariri to Meet with al-Rahi Monday in Rome

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement Saad Hariri is expected to meet with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday in the Italian capital Rome.

Local newspapers published on Wednesday reported that the meeting will tackle the presidential impasse.

Lebanon has been without a president since May when the tenure of Michel Suleiman ended.

The majority of the March 8 alliance's MPs have been causing a lack of quorum in sessions aimed at electing a president, leaving the country without a head of state.

Hariri, who is currently in Paris, held talks on Tuesday with French President Francois Hollande on the latest local and regional developments.

The former premier said after the meeting at the Elysee Palace that the presidential elections should take place before parliamentary ones.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, Hariri agreed during a telephone call with al-Rahi ahead of his meeting with Hollande to hold talks next week.

In September, Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil held separate meetings with Hollande on the sidelines of the 69th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

France is currently discussing with Lebanon the delivery of arms to the Lebanese military under a $3 billion Saudi grant.

H.K.

M.T.