Saudi Minister in Beirut for Talks ahead of Presidential Vote

Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan arrived in Beirut Thursday for talks with Lebanese officials, a few days before a presidential vote that is expected to see the election of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun as the country's new president.

Delegated by Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq welcomed the Saudi minister at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport.

Sabhan is scheduled to meet with Salam at 7:15 pm, LBCI television said.

Later in the evening he will meet with former presidents Michel Suleiman and Amin Gemayel, according to state-run National News Agency.

The Saudi envoy will also meet with the country's political leaders in the coming hours.

Quoting Saudi Embassy sources, LBCI said Sabhan might voice a stance on the developments at the end of his visit.

His visit will involve meetings with Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Najib Miqati, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh.

He will also meet with a number of spiritual leaders and might hold talks with Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji.

Al-Akhbar newspaper had reported Wednesday that Sabhan will express the kingdom's support for Hariri's presidential initiative.

“The Saudi envoy will carry suggestions aimed at resolving the obstacles and lowering the level of opposition that the speaker (Berri) has showed against the agreement between Hariri and General Michel Aoun,” the sources added.

Media reports have said that the “real battle” will only begin after Aoun's election as president in the October 31 session and that some parties will not facilitate the formation of a government led by Hariri.

Aoun was tipped to become president after Hariri formally endorsed him last Thursday.

Berri has voiced concerns over the Aoun-Hariri agreements that preceded the endorsement while openly declaring that his bloc will “vote against Aoun” and that it might “join the ranks of the opposition.”

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.