Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and French President Emmanuel Macron meet in New York. (Photo credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York amid the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, where they discussed Lebanon's presidential election and the maritime border with Israel.
During his meeting with Mikati, Macron emphasized the need to hold the presidential election on time "to maintain stability" in Lebanon, according to a statement published by Mikati's media office.
Meanwhile, US envoy Amos Hochstein, the mediator in the indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel over their maritime border, was present during the meeting between Blinken and Mikati, which Blinken afterward described in a statement as "fruitful." He added that they had discussed "the need to hold presidential elections in a timely manner and ... to implement reforms to support the Lebanese people."
"The United States will continue to work with Lebanon to achieve peace and prosperity," Blinken said.
In a statement following the meeting, Mikati said "all files were discussed," adding that "issues related to Syrian refugees and the agreement with the International Monetary Fund as well as electricity and education" were also on the table.
Mikati also said that "the file of the maritime border demarcation is seeing great progress," without specifying further details.
Hochstein arrived in New York Monday evening after Lebanese President Michel Aoun said negotiations for a deal between Lebanon and Israel have entered their "final stages." He had met Najib Mikati earlier on Tuesday.