Report: Dialogue Session Will not Address Presidential Settlement

The settlement that could bring Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh to the top state post, will not be addressed during the dialogue session set for the beginning of the week, An Nahar daily reported on Sunday.

Speaker Nabih Berri is committed to limit the discussions to the items listed on the agenda, sources close to Ain el-Tineh told the daily.

Ruling out the possibility that the issue could be tackled, they said on condition of anonymity: “The settlement to bring MP Franjieh to the post of president may not be discussed.”

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri has been leading efforts to nominate Franjieh as president as part of a greater initiative aimed at ending the political deadlock in Lebanon.

However his initiative was not welcomed by the Christian blocs of the Kataeb, Change and Reform, and Lebanese Forces as they expressed reservations over the nomination.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.