Report: Franjieh-Salam settlement was rejected by Bassil

The presidential file was recently on the verge of a consensual settlement involving an agreement on both the presidency and the PM post, but the efforts failed in their last stages, a media report said on Thursday.

“Paris played a key role in formulating this settlement, which was based on the Franjieh-Salam equation, or the election of (ex-)minister Suleiman Franjieh as president and the designation of (ex-)ambassador Nawaf Salam as premier,” al-Joumhouria newspaper quoted “credible” sources as saying.

“The Amal Movement-Hezbollah duo agreed to it, but it ran into the rejection of Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil,” the sources added.

The sources noted, however, that “the door has not been closed yet in the face of passing any settlement,” pointing out that the contacts are still ongoing.

“We do not rule out the emergency of surprises at any moment,” the sources added.