Macron appoints French ex-minister Lebanon special envoy
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After the Lebanese parties failed to agree on a unified president for the republic, the French President announces the appointment of his former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian as his personal envoy for Lebanon.
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed his former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian as his personal envoy for Lebanon, the presidency announced on Wednesday.
The announcement comes at a time when Lebanon entered, months ago, into a stifling and intertwined political and economic crisis, and a vacuum in the presidency, following the end of former President General Michel Aoun's term.
Last Sunday, 32 deputies from the Lebanese opposition announced the nomination of an official in the International Monetary Fund and former minister, Jihad Azour, for president, against the other candidate, Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh.
Azour is currently the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund. He was the Lebanese Minister of Finance between 2005 and 2008.
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On another note, former Lebanese President Michel Aoun arrived in Damascus, Syria earlier on Tuesday to meet the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
It was also reported that Aoun was accompanied by former Lebanese Minister Pierre Raffoul, and they were received on the Lebanese-Syrian border by the former Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abed Al-Karim Ali.
A source close to Aoun told Al Mayadeen that the Lebanese presidential election "is not on the agenda of Aoun's discussion with Assad."
Furthermore, the source also pointed out that Aoun's visit to Damascus comes within a "regular" context, given that Syria is "the gateway to the Arab Levant," and that is why this visit occurred, the source said.
It is worth noting that the last time Aoun visited Damascus was 14 years ago.
