Report: Franjieh-Aoun Meeting Possible this Week

A Hizbullah delegation did not pay Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun a visit last week with the aim of discussing the nomination of Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh for president, An Nahar daily quoted unnamed sources on Monday.

“The stance of the Free Patriotic Movement is very well known and it will continue to nominate the candidacy of Aoun (for president) as a final strategic choice,” the sources close to the FPM told the daily.

The sources who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that “the name of the candidate for the presidency is not the only matter at hand, but creating a list of understandings that restore the historic role of the Christians is.”

The comments come amid a series of meetings expected to kick off this week, mainly a reported visit that Franjieh will make to Aoun at his residence in Rabieh to tackle the latest settlement that could see Franjieh nominated for the top state post.

Aoun is the candidate of March 8 camp and a staunch ally of Hizbullah.

The talks come over the backdrop of a Paris meeting between Franjieh and al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri that was behind launching the current momentum in the country regarding the presidential elections.

The talks sparked intense speculation about a possible settlement that might open the doors of the Baabda Palace for Franjieh.

Hariri has also met in Paris with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel.

The possible nomination of Franjieh faces voices of dissent among the Kataeb Party, Lebanese Forces, and Change and Reform bloc.