Army chief meets Saudi Ambassador in Yarze
Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun met Thursday with Saudi Ambassador in Lebanon Walid Boukhari in Yarze.
Aoun, 58, is on good terms with all sides of the political spectrum, although Hezbollah has criticized him for his close ties to Washington.
Naming him would require a constitutional amendment because of his position.
The commander, who bears no relation to former president Michel Aoun, is widely seen as a compromise candidate that lawmakers could elect if they fail to reach a consensus on their preferred choice.
Should he become president, Aoun would be the fourth former army commander to lead the country since the end of the civil war.
Aoun is the first in a list of three nominees suggested by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said he does not mind his election but Jumblat failed to convince Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri of electing Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement has frequently criticized the army chief.
Berri, for his part, has advised Jumblat to disregard the Army chief's name during a meeting between the two leaders in Ain el-Tineh, al-Akhbar newspaper reported Thursday.
The daily added that during a meeting between MP Taymour Jumblat and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, the Democratic Gathering Bloc lawmaker sensed positivity from al-Rahi regarding the nomination of Aoun. Fellow MP Raji Saad, who also attended the meeting, said in a statement after the talks that the name of Aoun is in the lead.
02 February 2023, 17:50
11
I believe that any Security chiefs, whether Army and Interior should not be allowed to meet with any other country representative without the presence of the Ministers. Army chiefs should only meet with those equivalent with the knowledge of the foreign ministry who organises such a plan with a clear agenda oriented vers security issues.
In the above instance, if the Embassy or Saudi Arabia has a security concerns, they should send their security détaché and not the ambassador.
Can you imagine in the US, the ambassador will communicate directly with US chief bypassing the Pentagon secretary.
Unless, the army and public security chiefs are delegated by the officials, they should only meet with their foreign equivalent encounters.
03 February 2023, 07:40
11
But Hezbollah's leader is allowed to meet with Iran's Foreign minister:)
03 February 2023, 18:34
00
Lebanon is banana republic, generals become presidents like most African and many latin-american nations.
As stated by Galaxy, Nusralrat - self proclaimed- leader of the unhappy Shia community regularly meets with Iranian officials of the highest level, he even takes his orders from them. But, in a normal and healthy democracy, an army chief would meet with similarly ranked counterparts and not diplomats.
