A voting session in the US Congress has not yet taken place to receive the new US ambassador to Beirut, Liz Johnson, and to accept her accreditation, after Congress had listened to her.

It is assumed, according to Western diplomatic sources, that the Foreign Relations Committee will decide to include this matter in the vote, but the date is not yet known, and it may or may not be soon.

Meanwhile, the US administration is inclined, according to the sources, to appoint a Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Beirut, who is the Consul General in Adana, Turkey, and she held positions related to the Middle East in the Foreign Ministry, and her name is Amanda Pilz.

The sources reveal to “Sawt Beirut International” that Pilz’ appointment as Chargé d’Affairs at the embassy in Beirut is to avoid the absence of an ambassador after the current ambassador, Dorothy Shea, leaves Lebanon very soon, ending her diplomatic mission, and was appointed deputy head of her country’s mission to the United Nations.
In all cases, any ambassador appointed in Beirut remains chargé d’affaires until a President of the Republic is elected, so that the new ambassador presents his credentials to the President. The US administration is not enthusiastic about sending the new ambassador as long as there is no president for the republic, because it will be like a list of business, and this is not a source of American satisfaction, in addition to many factors related to Lebanon that contribute to this trend.

However, despite the administration’s appointment of a new ambassador, this is not related to any new policy it will follow in Lebanon, but is rather linked to the necessity of continuing American diplomatic representation at the highest level in it. Consequently, the performance of the new ambassador will be similar to the departing ambassador in terms of adhering to the administration’s directives in its policy in Lebanon and the region. And the sources confirm that, until further notice, there is no change in the nature of the current policy. This policy focuses on the following:

– The implications of any results of the American dialogue with Iran on the Lebanese file and ways to crystallize this through diplomatic action and bilateral relations.
-Continuing to seek to maintain calm in the south for a long period of time, as this would benefit the extraction of oil and gas from both the Lebanese and Israeli seas.
– Respecting the implementation of Resolution 1701 and respecting the extension process for “UNIFIL” on a regular basis, while striving as much as possible to narrow the movement of “Hezbollah” through the extension resolutions issued by the Security Council.
– The priority of electing a president and cooperating with the International Monetary Fund to solve Lebanon’s economic crisis.
– Warning of the return of Lebanese relations to their old age with the Syrian regime within the framework of Arab openness to it.