Report: Arab-Gulf Mobility to Dissuade Hariri from Nominating Aoun
Arab diplomatic sources in Beirut predicted the emergence of an Arab move in the next few hours to dissuade al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Saad Hariri from nominating MP Michel Aoun for the post of president, media reports said on Thursday.
As Safir daily quoted a Gulf diplomatic source as saying: “There are some movements being taken that might put the presidential issue on the right track to prevent the country from sliding into serious divisions that affect its stability.
“The Arab mobility specifically from the Gulf has started. In the past few hours, one of the Gulf States has summoned its ambassador to task him with a road map, that might be in the name of the Gulf Cooperation Council, for implementation as soon as he returns back to Beirut. A landmark Gulf position may emerge in the coming days,” added the source.
“In the same context, it is not unlikely for an official at a major Gulf state to schedule a meeting that Hariri has been anticipating since May, to inform him of the position of the Gulf states,” the source went on to say.
“We have a clear result that the majority rejects Hariri's option to nominate Aoun in spite of their public positions that show them as supporters. During their meetings, they disclose rejection and explain the risks of Hariri's new approach,” remarked the source.
Hariri is expected to endorse founder of the Free Patriotic Movement Aoun for president, a post that has been vacant for almost 30 months.
Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the mandate of Michel Suleiman expired, amid deep rivalries among Christian and Muslim politicians exacerbated by the conflict in Syria.
Since then parliament, which has twice extended its mandate, has met on 45 occasions to elect a president but deep rivalries and disagreements saw most deputies boycott the sessions.
The assembly is due to convene next week for the 46th time amid high expectations that a president will be elected and that the job will go to Aoun.
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