Qatar expected to resume its presidential mediation

Qatari officials are expected to visit Lebanon and hold very limited meetings to resume discussions over the presidential file and the army chief file, informed sources said.

“Political talk behind the scenes did not stop even during the peak of the war and the ignition of the southern front. Some even stressed the need to go to a solution amid the extraordinary circumstances to prepare for any scenario that the country might face, especially an expansion of the war,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

The daily quoted “prominent sources” as saying that during his visit to Doha around a month ago, caretaker PM Najib Mikati had urged Qatar’s ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad to resume the Qatari mediation and re-send an envoy from Doha to Beirut, amid reports that the PM’s request was coordinated with Speaker Nabih Berri.

“Qatar contacted Hezbollah officials to explore their viewpoint about the arrival of a Qatari delegation and the resumption of the presidential tour, but they did not receive an encouraging answer,” al-Akhbar said.

However, two weeks after the emergence of this information, there are reports that a Qatari envoy is already in Lebanon, the daily added.

“Doha is still basing its approach on the principle of putting an end to the previous presidential choices and going to consensual names, such as General Security acting chief Maj. Gen. Elias Bayssari,” the sources added.

Qatar is also trying to resolve the army commander crisis through attempting to convince the political forces to extend the term of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, who is one of its presidential candidates, the sources said.