Did the actual mission of the French presidential envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, fly after the meeting of the Five-nation group in Doha, and is there really no agreement among the member states of this committee on a clear vision for a solution to the Lebanese presidential crisis?

A French diplomatic source told “Sawt Beirut International” that Le Drian’s mission is ongoing and that he is in the process of formulating a formula to be presented to the Five-nation group before it is presented to the Lebanese parties. The source indicated that he will visit Beirut very soon, perhaps within a few days, and there is nothing essential that hinders his return again, except for arranging his appointments in the Five-nation, where he visits them in succession. He will not visit Washington, but he is coordinating with it in all his steps.

According to the sources, everything is contained in the French movement that will continue, because Le Drian is in the stage of crystallizing ideas, but the idea of dialogue was not certain for him, and of course the talk was about the form of dialogue now through a round table or bilateral dialogues, but the form of dialogue had not crystallized, and the idea was not final.
The sources indicated that France does not want any initiative that does not serve the purpose, regardless of the Five-nation statements. And Le Drian will present his findings to President Emmanuel Macron, before presenting it to parties abroad and inside Lebanon. So he is in the stage of crystallizing his initiative or any kind of political position that would help produce a quick solution.

The sources stressed the importance of issuing the five separate statements from the five countries in the same formulation and the same spirit, following the Five-nation meeting in Doha. While raising the tone ceiling regarding the measures that will be taken against the obstructors is not new, and the Five-nation discussed it in its first meeting on February 6 in Paris.

What France focuses on, according to the sources, is that each country in the Five-nation has the freedom of movement on its own to reach a solution on Lebanon, and therefore this principle does not prevent the movement of the French, Qataris, Saudis or others. From here, Le Drian visits the capitals of the five, and he has the possibility to carry out his initiative in parallel with the position of the five, and this is so that it does not appear that there is a mandate from anyone to care about the Lebanese issue.

The sources pointed out that France will not give up its interest in Lebanon, and it also has contacts with Iran, and Qatar, noting that France and Qatar are the two countries in the five that talk with Iran about Lebanon, but they have not yet seen any development in the Iranian position. Tehran continues to say that its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, is the one who decides regarding the presidential election, and that it leaves it free to take a position on that matter, but both Paris and Doha continue their contacts with it.