Report: Hariri Meets Khalil, France Reluctant to Support Aoun or Franjieh's Candidacy

A meeting between ex-PM Saad Hariri and political adviser to the Speaker Minister Ali Hassan Khalil in Paris, did not achieve much at the level of the presidential nominations, media reports said on Saturday.

The meeting between the two officials was not prepared beforehand, it happened by chance when Hariri was taking a walk and he ran accidentally into Khalil, who was on a visit to Paris to deliver a lecture, the reports added.

However, the talks touched on the latest developments in the presidential file associated with the communications conducted by Hariri.

Hariri affirmed that he will carry on with his consultations, as he assured that his efforts to nominate MP Michel Aoun are serious.

On the other hand, As Safir daily quoted a well-informed diplomatic source as saying that “Hariri received international guarantees for the first time, and that this is the basis for his outside movement”, in a clear indication that the choice to adopt Aoun will not face the same fate as that of Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh.

Furthermore, Lebanese sources said the contrary, noting that “French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has expressed to Hariri, France's lack of enthusiasm with regard to the nomination of Aoun and Franjieh,” which was interpreted as a signal to look for a third candidate.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri's recent return to Lebanon has triggered a flurry of reports about a possible presidential settlement and the ex-PM is exploring the possibility of endorsing Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.