Qatari minister of state meets Bassil, Geagea
The minister of state at the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Mohammed bin Abdel Aziz al-Khulaifi, met Tuesday with Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, in a shuttle tour between the Lebanese leaders over the presidential file.
The Qatari minister also met with Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun.
On Monday, al-Khulaifi had met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Kataeb leader Sami Gemayyel, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Erslan, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. He also met with Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad, media reports said.
Al-Khulaifi told local medias that his visit is focusing on the bilateral ties between Lebanon and Qatar and urged the Lebanese to prioritize dialogue and national interest.
"Qatar is keen to unify regional and international efforts to help Lebanon," al-Khulaifi said, adding that filling the presidential vacuum is the most important topic discussed at the Paris meeting.
The Qatari initiative is not isolated from the French-Saudi efforts regarding the Lebanese file, media reports said.
"The Qatari envoy had no initiative, suggestions or nominations, but he is rather exploring view points and listening," Gemayyel said Monday after his meeting with al-Khulaifi.
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term expired at the end of October.
Lawmakers have held 11 rounds of voting to name a successor to Aoun, but no candidate has garnered enough ballots.
With no single party or parliamentary bloc holding a majority, electing a new president in crisis-hit Lebanon can drag on for months of even years.
Source: Naharnet
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