French President Emmanuel Macron has visited Lebanon three times, not to mention the envoy Jean Yves Le Drian and other ministers and senior French officials, without achieving the desired objective. Saudi initiatives, on the other hand, are considered natural because the Kingdom played a key role leading up to the Taif Agreement. However, it was absent from Lebanon for a period due to its confrontation with Hezbollah and the campaigns that targeted it. It has recently returned through its envoy responsible for the Lebanese file, Prince Yazid bin Farhan.

Following bin Farhan’s visit to Ain el Tineh and his extended meeting with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a Saudi diplomat in Beirut says there is Saudi appreciation for Berri’s role, which had a major impact in reaching the election of General Joseph Aoun as President of the Republic and closing the chapter of the presidential vacuum, as well as in the process of assigning Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Visits to Speaker Berri have not stopped, and communication continues across all Lebanese files.

A member of parliament tasked with the Saudi file from his party says to Al-Nahar that Prince bin Farhan “emphasized, at the core of his mission, the management of internal balances and the prevention of strife, and therefore reaching a comprehensive political solution based on the Taif Agreement and the full implementation of its remaining provisions, as well as launching the reform process, in addition to supporting the Lebanese Army.

The most notable point is that bin Farhan stressed in most of his meetings, whether in Saudi Arabia or in Beirut with all those he met, that the Kingdom is ready to contribute to the reconstruction of the South and all of Lebanon, and that it can mobilize the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to participate. However, this requires a state, a central authority, and a single army, and that Hezbollah hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state.

He also encouraged the negotiation process, and this was also confirmed to Nabih Berri, meaning that the focus in the meetings with Berri, whom bin Farhan believes there is no alternative but to coordinate with and support his efforts, especially since everyone is awaiting direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under American sponsorship in order to act accordingly.”