LF leader Samir Geagea receiving Saudi Ambassador Walid Boukhari in Meerab. (Aldo Ayoub/AFP)
Riyadh seems willing to throw all its weight behind the effort to elect a reformist Lebanese president, rather than one backed by Hezbollah.The Saudi Ambassador to Beirut, Waleed Bukhari, began a tour to the opposition camp on September 20, in a bid to encourage them to close ranks against the camp led by Hezbollah.The move comes just days after a Paris meeting held between Saudi officials — including Bukhari — and the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, who was received Tuesday by the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil. Patrick Durel, adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron for Middle East affairs, was also present at the meeting in Paris.According to a source close to the meeting, the two sides discussed the profile of the future Lebanese president.“The president ought to be capable of initiating the process...
Riyadh seems willing to throw all its weight behind the effort to elect a reformist Lebanese president, rather than one backed by Hezbollah.The Saudi Ambassador to Beirut, Waleed Bukhari, began a tour to the opposition camp on September 20, in a bid to encourage them to close ranks against the camp led by Hezbollah.The move comes just days after a Paris meeting held between Saudi officials — including Bukhari — and the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, who was received Tuesday by the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil. Patrick Durel, adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron for Middle East affairs, was also present at the meeting in Paris.According to a source close to the meeting, the two sides discussed the profile of the future Lebanese president.“The president ought to be capable of initiating the...