Le Drian's return to Beirut: Dialogue, third-man solution, or more deadlock?

French Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian will arrive Tuesday in Lebanon on a two-day visit to meet with Lebanese officials and leaders, including Maronite Patriarch Beshara al Rahi and Speaker Nabih Berri, media reports said.

Le Drian will start his tour in Lebanon with a visit to Berri during which the two will discuss the national dialogue over the presidential file, al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday.

It added that the five-nation group on Lebanon has given the French initiative three more months.

Le Drian, who visited Lebanon last month, met earlier this month with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, a day after representatives of France, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Qatar and Egypt met in Doha to discuss the Lebanese file.

In a statement issued after the Doha meeting, the five-nation group threatened “measures” against the Lebanese parties who are “blocking progress” in the stalled presidential election file, calling for a new president who “embodies integrity, unites the nation, puts the interests of the country first, prioritizes the well-being of its citizens, and forms a broad and inclusive coalition to implement essential economic reforms.”

Meanwhile, sources told ad-Diyar, in remarks published Monday, that Le Drian's visit aims at searching for new options and will likely not break the presidential impasse.

The sources expected a protracted deadlock until the five nations' next meeting in September.

"Lebanese parties are betting on the Saudi-Iranian and the American-Iranian understandings. The Shiite Duo is hoping these agreements would be in favor of its candidate Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh, while other parties believe that these foreign understandings might boost the chances of Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun," the sources said.