French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna takes part in a press conference at the closing of the "Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership" in Sweimeh by the Dead Sea shore in central-west Jordan on December 20, 2022. (Credit : Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
BEIRUT — French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Tuesday called on Lebanese politicians to act to allow "the rapid election" of a new president in Lebanon.
"Our concern is that Lebanese leaders assume their responsibilities to facilitate the rapid election of a new president in Lebanon and the formation of a full-fledged government capable of carrying out the reforms that Lebanon sorely needs," she said at a press conference following a regional summit in Jordan.
In his speech to the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron also stressed the need to address the crises in the region, including Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, where Iran exercises a strong influence.
Lebanon, which has been in the midst of a multidimensional collapse for more than three years, is now experiencing a double vacuum in the executive branch: the election of a new head of state is still pending since the departure of Michel Aoun on Oct. 31, while the caretaker government of Najib Mikati is only empowered to handle day-to-day affairs.
Bukhari in Bkirki
Also on Tuesday, the Saudi ambassador in Beirut, Walid Bukhari, met with the Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai in Bkirki, and said he supports the positions of the cleric, who has repeatedly called for the rapid election of a president as well as an international conference on Lebanon, under the auspices of the UN, to address the socio-economic and political crisis in Lebanon.
The state-run National News Agency stated that the ambassador welcomed, during his meeting with Rai, "the national positions of the patriarch which constitute a guarantee and a plan towards solutions." The prelate speaks out every Sunday in favor of a quick election of a new president and does not hesitate to criticize the inertia of the political class in the face of crises. Bukhari also reiterated the solidarity of the Saudi kingdom with "Lebanon and its people."