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Saudi ambassador meets with Mawlawi and Moawad

Saudi ambassador meets with Mawlawi and Moawad

MPs Ashraf Rifi, Michel Moawad and Fouad Makhzoumi during a meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari, in Sin al-Fil, on May 12, 2023. (Credit: @michelmoawad/Twitter)

Saudi Arabia's ambassador in Beirut, Walid Bukhari, continued his tour with Lebanese political figures on Friday by meeting with caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi and Zgharta MP Michel Moawad, one of the official presidential candidates.

The meeting between Bukhari and Moawad took place in Sin al-Fil, at the headquarters of Moawad's parliamentary group, in the presence of MPs Fouad Makhzoumi, Ashraf Rifi, and Adib Abdelmassih.

"Saudi Arabia believes that the Lebanese people have the right to choose their own president and that, therefore, they should take responsibility for this choice," Moawad told reporters after the meeting.

"Saudi Arabia seeks to establish rules for the region based on the sovereignty of states. This reinforces our insistence that Lebanon should not be outside this sphere of growth and stability," Bukhari added.

Earlier in the day, Bukhari received caretaker Interior Minister Mawlawi in Yarze, the state-run National News Agency reported. At the end of the meeting, the minister stressed Riyadh's role in the presidential election, saying that "the Saudi Kingdom encourages us to accelerate the election of a president of the republic."

"Our relations with Saudi Arabia have never been at a standstill," Mawlawi added.

On Thursday, Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh, an unofficial presidential candidate supported by Hezbollah and its allies, received Bukhari— the first meeting between the two since Frangieh's candidacy was proposed.

Against Frangieh, Moawad's candidacy is supported by the so-called opposition parties to Hezbollah, notably the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party and some independents.

Bukhari has held numerous meetings with Lebanese politicians and dignitaries in recent days, insisting that the presidential election must be the result of an internal compromise and not external influences.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador in Beirut, Walid Bukhari, continued his tour with Lebanese political figures on Friday by meeting with caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi and Zgharta MP Michel Moawad, one of the official presidential candidates.The meeting between Bukhari and Moawad took place in Sin al-Fil, at the headquarters of Moawad's parliamentary group, in the presence of MPs Fouad...