French Ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher is following up on the ongoing communication between President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanon’s top officials in preparation for his return to Beirut early next month.
Well-informed European sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Macron’s upcoming visit should be preceded by actual steps that would prove the Lebanese authorities’ determination to cooperate with the French initiative.
Those steps should at least include, according to the sources, Aoun’s call for parliamentary consultations to nominate a prime minister to form the new government.
The European sources said that wasting time was not in the interest of the ruling system or the opposition political forces, adding that those were expected to respond to Marcon’s initiative to support Lebanon by meeting him halfway and making concrete decisions in this regard.
The political class is besieged and has no choice but to facilitate Macron’s mission that is supported by the international community, according to the sources.
They stressed that Lebanon could not be dragged into a time-splitting game, especially if Tehran wanted to postpone the formation of a rescue government until after the US presidential elections.
The sources noted that Iran was unable to disrupt the French move, because it was already facing a severe crisis and has failed to respond to the assassination of Al-Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
Moreover, Tehran did not respond to the joint US-Iraqi armed campaign against the Popular Mobilization Forces with Mustafa al-Kadhimi assuming the premiership, in addition to its silence over the mobile explosions that targeted Iranian facilities in a number of cities.
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