Report: France 'close to' voicing support for Army chief as president
France, supported by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, is coming close to announcing its support for Army chief Joseph Aoun as a presidential candidate, al-Akhbar newspaper reported Friday.
It said that a high-level French official might visit Beirut soon as France is preparing for new talks led by Ambassador Anne Grillo, after it failed to agree with Washington and Riyadh on a solution initiative.
Riyadh has expressed it is not concerned with the Lebanese presidential file unless an anti-Hezbollah president is elected, the daily added, claiming that the French-Saudi relations are not stable, which prevented any progress in the French initiative to reach a compromise solution.
Al-Akhbar added that there is an attempt to submit a new plan to crown prince Mohammed bin Salman suggesting a comprehensive reevaluation of the Saudi policies in Lebanon.
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