Berri meets Bassil, Quint ambassadors over presidential file
The ambassadors of the five-nation group on Lebanon, which comprises the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, met Wednesday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.
Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa said the presidential election session on January 9 will be open with consecutive rounds until a president is elected.
U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson told journalists that she feels "positive".
Parliament is scheduled to convene on January 9 to elect a new president, seeking to end more than two years without a head of state.
The country has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with neither of the two main blocs -- Hezbollah and its opponents -- having the majority required to elect one, and unable to reach a consensus.
"A president will be elected on January 9," Berri told Asharq al-Awsat, in remarks published Wednesday, vowing that the scheduled session will not be postponed.
Berri later met with Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil who said the efforts are serious and "things are going well."
"We will, God willing, have a president on January 9," Bassil said after the meeting.
Source: Naharnet
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