‘Italy ready to support efforts to find next Lebanese president’

Italy is ready to “support the Lebanese political parties’ efforts to reach an agreement on the presidential file,” the country’s foreign minister said yesterday.

In a statement, Paolo Gentiloni said he discussed “the impact of the Syrian crisis on development in Lebanon which has received nearly 25 per cent of the Syrian refugees or more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees as well as the Italian contribution during the London donors’ conference,” with his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil in Rome.

Gentiloni called for the “rapid implementation of the commitments made by the participants in the London conference” and for the “Lebanese government to address the challenges facing the security, social and economic stability in the country”.

The statement added that Bassil displayed “possible scenarios to overcome the presidential impasse in his country” and expressed Lebanon’s appreciation for Italy’s role within the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The Lebanese parliament failed for the 35th time to elect a new president for the country.