Presidency: Riyadh's position unchanged; Berri insists on backing Frangieh

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Monday that Lebanon needs a national president who unites rather than divides, a president whose identity is first and foremost Lebanese and whose religion is secondary, and a president who brings people together instead of pushing them apart.

"We need a president to speak with Syria about border demarcation and resolving the refugee crisis. We need a president who believes in the Taif Agreement, and based on all of this, we have nominated Sleiman Frangieh," Berri added.

Berri also considered that "if Sleiman Frangieh, who reached out to everyone and embraced all people, does not unite, who will?" 

The speaker also referred to the meeting of Christian and Maronite leaders at Bkerki during the previous elections, where they agreed on four names, and whoever is elected from among them would represent the Christians and the Lebanese, "and Sleiman Frangieh was one of the four."

When Saudi Ambassador Waleed Boukari visited Ain al-Tineh as part of his visits to Lebanese leaders, it was notable that the ambassador cited Berri's words about the need for equal dialogue and the necessity of the triumph of goodwill. 

He considered that the current stage requires reliance on good intentions and positive speech more than ever.

Berri's meeting with the Saudi ambassador was described as positive by observers, which was confirmed by the Saudi ambassador's statement in response to a question about whether there was anything positive for Lebanon after the agreement.

LBCI learned that the presidential file was the primary file the Saudi ambassador carried to Ain al-Tineh. He discussed this file in depth with the parliament speaker, according to those who followed the meeting.

While Al-Bukhari's visit to the second presidency was scheduled before the signing of the Saudi-Iranian agreement, Riyadh's position on the Lebanese presidential election has not changed, especially concerning the specifications related to the President's personality, as well as not entering into names and calling on the Lebanese to agree on a president's name.

Will the Lebanese succeed in sitting at one table and coming out with a Lebanese agreement on a president who enjoys everyone's approval? Only time will tell.