Report: Aoun Raised Bassil’s Nomination for Presidency with Putin

During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week, President Michel Aoun has reportedly raised the “nomination of his son-in-law and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to the post of presidency in the next elections, asking for Putin’s support,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

Diplomatic sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told the daily that the meeting between Aoun and his Russian counterpart, “included Bassil (Free Patriotic Movement chief), and Adviser Mireille Aoun, but excluded the Lebanese ambassador in Moscow.”

“The meeting was supposed to include the Lebanese ambassador but Bassil has removed the name from the Lebanese attendance list, confining the meeting to himself and the adviser which made it almost a closed meeting not even permissible for an ambassador to attend,” said the sources.

On the other hand, sources of the Free Patriotic Movement said “any talk about special agendas during Aoun's visit to Russia are merely unrealistic. Discussions have focused on Lebanon, the issue of the displaced and the Russian-Lebanese relations.”