Zasypkin: Lebanese Have a Major Role to Help Elect a President

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin assessed the latest meeting between al-Mustaqbal Movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri and Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Zaspikin as positive and friendly, and emphasized that the presidential file in Lebanon is an internal affair, As Safir daily reported on Monday.

Discussions between the two men focused on the file of the Lebanese presidency and the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon, added the daily.

“Assuming it is difficult to impose a president on the Lebanese through a foreign will, then the internal efforts become an essential element in the presidential file. Only in that case will the foreign factor become a contributing factor,” Zasypkin told the daily in an interview.

He stressed his country's keenness not to interfere in the presidential affairs in Lebanon nor in any other country in the world.

Last week, Hariri held talks in Moscow with Lavrov on the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, and the bilateral relations between the two countries, Hariri's media office had said.

During the meeting, Lavrov expressed “support” for Hariri's efforts to end the presidential void, stressing that the ex-PM is “playing an important role” regarding the domestic situations in Lebanon, Hariri's office said.

Hariri's recent 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.

Hariri's move prompted Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian rival, after months of political rapprochement talks between their two parties.

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.