Le Drian resumes talks in Beirut, meets Raad and Jumblat

French Special Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian resumed Wednesday his meetings with Lebanese key players as France seeks to end a political crisis that has left the country without a president for over a year.

Le Drian met Wednesday with former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and incumbent leader MP Taymour Jumblat in Clemenceau, after an earlier meeting with Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad.

He will later today meet with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel, who both rejected a dialogue proposed by the French diplomat during his last visit to Beirut.

"The LF party always has its viewpoints but I prefer Berri's and Le Drian's viewpoint," Jumblat said after his meeting with Le Drian.

Le Drian had met on Tuesday with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Free Patriotic Movement Jebran Bassil, Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh, and Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun.

Berri, who had called for a seven-day dialogue followed by open-ended electoral sessions, said that Le Drian supported his dialogue initiative. "Le Drian and I have agreed that there is no other way but dialogue to end the presidential crisis," Berri stressed after the meeting.

In remarks published Wednesday in Annahar newspaper, Ain el-Tineh sources said that the 5-nation group on Lebanon also supports Berri's initiative.

"Berri asked Le Drian if his stance regarding the dialogue is supported by the 5-nation group, and Le Drian confirmed that it is," the sources said.

Le Drian is visiting Lebanon for the third time to resume "his good offices mission, initiated last July, in coordination with the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt," the French Embassy in Beirut said.

He will once again meet with all the political players in charge of electing a president to discuss "the priority projects to be addressed by the next President, in order to facilitate the emergence of a consensual solution that will end the institutional crisis."

Le Drian will meet on Thursday with independent MPs and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

He will also reportedly meet on Thursday with Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari who has invited twenty-four Sunni MPs to the meeting.