French President Emmanuel Macron has warned against any foreign interference in the Lebanese affairs, at a time when contacts are continuing between the Lebanese political forces to formulate an understanding on the form of the new government.
Macron called - in a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani - all parties to avoid escalation and foreign interference, and to support the establishment of a Lebanese government whose mission is to manage the crisis and implement political and economic reforms.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a phone call with his French counterpart on Wednesday, during which they discussed developments in the situation in Lebanon.
The Russian presidency stated, in a statement, that Putin and Macron reviewed the latest developments in Lebanon after the explosion that shook the capital Beirut on August 4.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, during a visit to Beirut port, said that making wide-ranging changes is a condition for providing long-term aid to Lebanon, and said that this country is currently in need of a strong start and deep economic reforms.
The Lebanese Red Cross diamonds handed over a check worth one million euros, as part of the immediate aid pledged by Berlin.
Parly in Beirut
The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, will visit Beirut on Thursday and Friday to receive the "Tonner" helicopter carrier, tasked with providing assistance after the Beirut bombing, her office announced Wednesday.
In a statement, the French minister's office revealed the purpose of this visit, saying, "We are here, the support continues, the declared assistance has been delivered." "One of the goals is to remove debris from the port to make it able to function again," he added.
Parley will receive the "Tonner" helicopter carrier, which is expected to arrive on Thursday night, Friday, and will meet President Michel Aoun.
On Sunday, Toniere sailed from Toulon, France (south), carrying on board an engineering group of land forces consisting of about 350 members and a detachment of divers from the Navy to verify that there were no debris that would make it difficult to reach the port.
The search for a government
On the other hand, contacts continue between the Lebanese political forces to formulate an understanding on the form of the new government and the name of its president, and a group of names are being put forward to head this government, at a time when talk about the demand for early parliamentary elections has receded.
The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubiš, stressed the importance of avoiding a long period of government vacuum, and urged to accelerate the formation of a government that meets the aspirations of the people and enjoys their support.
The head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, said that there is tremendous international pressure being exerted on the Lebanese authority to form a government.
Geagea added - during a press conference - that he puts big question marks about the success of these pressures, based on previous experiences with the authority, as he put it.
On another level, the Lebanese judiciary will listen, starting tomorrow, Friday, to a number of former and current ministers, whose responsibilities include Beirut Port, for questioning about the issue of storing huge quantities of ammonium nitrate in Store No. 12.
The discriminatory public attorney, Judge Ghassan Khoury, will hear the ministers who have succeeded in portfolios of jobs, money and justice since 2014, and his investigations into the file of the Beirut Port explosion included listening to officers and leaders of the various security services.