Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai received MP Gebran Bassil in Bkerki on Dec. 9, 2022. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Following a Friday meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai in Bkerki, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil said he will continue the dialogue in Lebanon and abroad to find a solution for the country's political crisis.
Bassil told reporters in Bkerke that he had "continued discussions with the patriarch on efforts to get out of the crisis," the MP said via a Friday tweet.
"We are open-minded, but if others are not, we cannot force them [to be]," he added. "We will continue to seek a solution, both inside the country and abroad."
Bassil is expected to discuss Lebanon's presidential vacancy at greater length in a televised interview on Sunday evening.
Later in the afternoon on Friday, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai also received former president Michel Aoun.
"I am not here to talk about the presidential election," Aoun told the press after meeting with Rai. "The national pact is not respected, the Constitution and certain rights are not respected either."
Lebanon continues to face a double executive vacancy. Baabda Palace remains without a president since Aoun's departure on Oct. 30 while Prime Minister Najib Mikati's cabinet remains in caretaker status following failed attempts at cabinet formation.
Bassil visited Paris and Doha in recent weeks to discuss the ongoing political crisis. Though he's said he considers himself a "natural" presidential candidate, he has never officially announced his candidacy.
Since the beginning of the presidential election period, nine consecutive parliamentary sessions have failed to elect a new head of state. Hezbollah and its allies appear to be leaning toward Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh, but the FPM has made it clear they have no intention to vote for him.
Meanwhile, the candidacy of Zgharta MP Michel Moawad remains unanimous, especially among Forces of Change MPs.
'A blow to the Republic'
Mikati convened his caretaker cabinet on Monday, prompting a political tug-of-war between the caretaker PM and the Aounist camp, which accuses Mikati of wanting to seize the prerogatives of the president following the Aoun's departure.
"What happened concerning the government issue and the decrees [issued] is a blow to the Lebanese entity and the Republic and not only to the Presidency of the Republic," Bassil said Friday.
The cabinet meeting was also criticized by Patriarch Rai who said the meeting "should not have taken place, especially since several parties were absent."
