Скачать или смотреть French foreign ministry official in Beirut for talks amid presidential void

(3 Feb 2015) LEAD IN:
A French foreign ministry official has arrived in Beirut for talks, amid the country's continuing presidential void.
Jean-Francois Girault is meeting Michel Suleiman, who stepped down last May, along with Lebanon's foreign minister.
STORY-LINE:
Arriving for a meeting with Lebanese foreign minister Gebran Bassil.
Jean-Francois Girault - who is the French Foreign Ministry's Director of Middle East and North African Affairs - is in Beirut for talks, as the country continues to face a presidential void.
After meeting Bassil, he heads to the man who left that void - Michel Suleiman, who stepped down in May 2014, when his term ended.
Several parliament sessions have failed to elect a new president.
The decision must be consensual and the struggle between the two leading power blocs has paralysed discussions.
One bloc - the March 14 Alliance - is a coalition led by MP Saad Hariri, the younger son of former prime minister, Rafik Hariri.
The other bloc - the March 8 Alliance - includes lawmakers allied with the militant Hezbollah group who have boycotted the meetings.
Lebanon is accustomed to political crisis, and went for months without a president before Suleiman, a former army commander, was elected in 2008.
Girault has held talks in Saudi Arabia and Iran over the impasse.
Meanwhile, France is expected to deliver military weapons and equipment to Lebanon, as part of a three billion US dollar Saudi military package, to the Lebanese Army.
The deal was finalised late last year but France has yet to deliver.
Girault is expected to meet with Prime Minister Tammam Salam later today.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...