Hariri Meets Hollande: Political Sacrifices Need to be Made, Atmospheres are Positive

Head of al-Mustaqbal movement MP Saad Hariri stated on Thursday after his meeting with French President Francois Hollande that “political sacrifices need to be made” to address the presidential deadlock.

“No doubt there are some political sacrifices that we need to make. Lebanon is more important than all of us,” said Hariri after a meeting that gathered the two men at the Elysee Palace.

The meeting highlighted the latest developments on the vacuum at the top state post which saw the country drown in a vacuum for over 17 months.

“President Francois Hollande received Hariri at 10:30 am Paris time at the Elysee Palace,” a statement issued by the Mustaqbal chief media office said.

"It is crucial that the presidential crisis ends," said Hollande after the meeting.

For his part, Hariri added: "We are working on ending the vacuum and there is an ongoing dialogue between the whole Lebanese factions. The hopes are high in Lebanon to conclude this matter."

Despite the divisions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, recent reports signaled a Saudi-Iranian push to conclude the thorny file of electing a Lebanese president in addition to a French role that could engage in the efforts.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

There has been a flurry of political talks in the country that followed a Paris meeting between Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh and Hariri.

The meeting sparked intense speculation that the two leaders agreed to the nomination of the Marada chief for the presidency.

D.A.

M.T.