French foreign minister meets Hezbollah lawmakers in Beirut

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault met with a political delegation from Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement in Beirut on Tuesday, local media reported.

During a two-day visit to Lebanon the French foreign ministry met with MPs Ali Fayyad and Ammar Al-Musawi, who is in charge of Hezbollah’s international relations.

The two sides discussed the presidential vacuum in Lebanon as well as the Syrian refugee crisis.

Hezbollah said it sis keen for the presidential post to be filled soon and that it supports General Michel Aoun because he represents the Christian majority.

The party called on France to use its influence to persuade Saudi Arabia and the Future Movement to accept Aoun’s candidacy.

France had earlier proposed to end the presidential vacuum by accepting Aoun as president in exchange for the return of Saad Hariri as prime minister. However, Hariri rejected the proposal, demanding that Hezbollah endorses the proposal.