BEIRUT: Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai hinted Thursday that a highly anticipated meeting between Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun may take place in the Bkirki Palace.
“[Aoun and Geagea] have always been in Bkirki and have worked under the [auspices] of Bkirki ever since I assumed my duties three years ago,” he said in response to a question if the meeting would take place in Bkirki.
Rai spoke from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport after returning from a trip to the Vatican.
The comment comes one day after Geagea extended his wishes to Aoun over his 80th birthday.
“I hope that we will have achieved [a] full agreement before your next birthday” Geagea said to Aoun on his official Twitter page.
The FPM leader responded by thanking Geagea for his greetings and expressed optimism that an accord would be reached earlier than that.
“I hope our agreement will be achieved by the end of the fasting period so that we present it as a gift to the Lebanese,” Aoun tweeted in reference to the Lenten fast which ends on April 5.
Aoun and Geagea are the country's two main presidential candidates, but neither currently has enough support in Lebanon's divided Parliament to win the election.
Preparations are currently underway for talks between the two rival politicians that aim to achieve Christian rapprochement to end the presidential election impasse.
Though the two have yet to meet, an agenda for dialogue sessions has been set and preliminary talks are being carried out in anticipation of the meeting.
Rai also offered birthday wishes to Aoun Thursday, expressing hopes that the FPM leader would “live long and beautiful years.”
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