Report: Khulaifi asks Christians to unite behind army chief nomination

A Qatari envoy visiting Lebanon said on the sidelines of one his meetings on Tuesday that his country “still believes that Army Commander General Joseph Aoun is the most suitable candidate for the presidency” and that “Christians should unite behind him to prevent others from choosing the president,” a highly informed source said.

The envoy, State Minister at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed bin Abdel Aziz al-Khulaifi, also said that “the French management of the Lebanese file needs rectification” and that “the upcoming meeting of the five-nation group is aimed at achieving that,” the source added, in remarks to al-Akhbar newspaper published Wednesday.

“The Qatari minister was surprised that some of those whom he met in Beirut took the initiative to inform him of their rejection of the bargain idea while stressing their rejection of Aoun’s nomination, with some saying that is not right anymore for every army chief to automatically be a presidential candidate,” al-Akhbar added.

Some politicians told the Qatari envoy that “General Aoun does not have capabilities that enable him to lead the country and that he has committed several mistakes in running the military institution,” the daily said.

“He does not show flexibility in dealing with others and he lacks political experience,” al-Akhar quoted the politicians as saying.