Exclusive, "Akhbar al-Yawm" agency
Qatar received a green light to follow up the Lebanese file
A source close to the presidential entitlement considered that it is impossible to talk about the progress of this file, but the name of the army commander, General Joseph Aoun, has returned to the forefront, with the return of Qatari interest in following up the file.
The source said, via "Akhbar Al-Yawm" agency, that Qatar has been supporting the military institution led by Aoun since before the vacuum, and perhaps the most prominent at this level is the financial donation of 60 million dollars provided by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to support the salaries of Army personnel, and pointed out that Aoun's visit last December to Doha was pivotal and essential for Qatar.
The source revealed that Qatar contacted Paris, Washington and Riyadh, and received a green light to follow up the Lebanese file, without being officially assigned or delegated, pointing out that the Qatari envoy Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, when he visited Lebanon last month, he noticed that Aoun is the most present name in the discussions related to the presidential file.
In response to a question, the source explained that several names have been put forward in recent days, but no common ground has been reached on them between the political parties and the parliamentary forces. In this context, it was proposed within the context of one of the initiatives that Aoun's name be put forward alongside another candidate and then the competition will be held in the House of Representatives, but this way poses a lot of risk, especially in light of the presence of Former MP Sleiman Frangieh's name as candidate.
As for the French initiative, the source said that a political figure who visited Paris in recent days and met with personalities close to President Emmanuel Macron, noticed that France has not withdrawn its hand from the Lebanese file, nor has it completely given up hope of electing Frangieh, but it is no longer militant and has become more flexible and open to other solutions.
The source concluded: Frangieh's battle is getting harder, but it's not over yet!