Al-Rahi presidential tour: Latest developments

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has started to talk to all parties regarding the presidential file.

On Saturday, bishop Paul Abdel Sater, on behalf of al-Rahi, met with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. The bishop urged for consensus instead of confrontation, and Nasrallah reiterated his support for Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh, al-Akhbar newspaper said Monday.

The daily said that Nasrallah told Abdel Sater that Hezbollah will not back down from supporting Franjieh.

Al-Rahi had also met with Franjieh and with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, media reports said, while Abdel Sater will meet in the coming hours with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

After a trip last week to Paris and to the Vatican, al-Rahi announced that France and the Vatican had asked him to talk to all of the country’s “components” regarding the presidential file.

“We will talk to everyone without exception, even to Hezbollah,” al-Rahi said.