Zasypkin Says Moscow Ready to Help in Presidential File

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin has announced that his country is willing to help the Lebanese in the stalled presidential file.

“We are ready to help the Lebanese in the presidential file, but without interfering in the domestic affairs,” Zasypkin told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Thursday.

Ex-PM Saad Hariri's latest presidential drive is aimed at “breaking the deadlock and seeking a way out of the dilemma,” the ambassador said, referring to Hariri's recent return to Lebanon and his latest meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

“It would not be beneficial to talk optimistically or pessimistically about Hariri's efforts, but we must exert efforts within our jurisdiction. Consensus among the Lebanese is needed and we would accept anything that the Lebanese would accept,” Zasypkin added.

Hariri's return to Lebanon has triggered a flurry of rumors and media reports about a possible presidential settlement and the possibility that the former premier has finally decided to endorse Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, 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, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman 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.