MP Ghassan Atallah indicated today in a radio interview that “the Free Patriotic Movement does not want to propose a candidate’s name for the presidency who is not ready to reach the presidency,” noting that the Movement is “waiting for the maturity of the stage to yield a more effective result.”

However, he stated that FPM had an initiative of setting basic specifications for the president and it is open to dialogue in this regard, revealing indirect channels of dialogue between deputies from the Movement and others from the Lebanese Forces Party, in the hope that meetings will take place between the two sides, ‘because Christian consensus is required primarily for a president to emerge, supported by major Christian blocs.”

Responding to a question about France’s moves in support of Sleiman Franjieh’s candidacy, the MP said: “Any external imposition of the name of the President of the Republic is not welcome, for what is required from the outside is to support the entitlement procedure, away from candidates’ names and imposing any figure on the Christian blocs,” Atallah underlined.

He stressed that “FPM today advocates dialogue to agree on a consensual president for the Republic of Lebanon.”

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon