If we set aside the general statements about Lebanon that were mentioned in the closing statement of the Arab summit in Jeddah, it is clear that after the summit is not the same as before it for the region as a whole and Lebanon including it, although there is nothing new in terms of not having the election of a president of the republic as a priority in the region’s files in this regard. the moment.
However, what is new is the serious movement regarding the presidential elections, which breaks the stagnation of the long past period.
There is no doubt that the conciliatory atmosphere in the region, which was reflected in the Jeddah summit and its precursors, will constitute a helping factor on the road to a Lebanese settlement, because the atmosphere of tension and wars constitutes an obstacle to such a settlement that cannot be born without the historic “reconciliation” that the region witnessed in the past few months.
This “reconciliation” was one of its titles, with the presence of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in person after 12 years of isolation, amid official and media celebrations evident in the media of the countries concerned with this rapprochement, which he had been working on for years.
Perhaps it was the Syrian summit despite the presence of prominent files on the table, including the Sudan file, no matter how much talk was made about Syrian concessions in the political process and in reforming the political system.
The presence of Damascus means putting a seal on the unfortunate past phase, which reflected a threat to Arab national security. This is what the senior Arab leaders who met in Jeddah want to bypass in order to open a new phase of Arab solidarity, at the very least, if it is difficult to unify the Arab position towards the entitlements facing the Arabs.
Therefore, the Arabs have become certain that it is very important to propose a new approach to a different phase that is witnessing major transformations. The Arab region is not outside it and should not be, and it has become necessary to approach it with a new approach based on strengthening joint action in its various aspects, and in parallel with that confronting interference in its internal affairs.
Some go to consider it a new Arab regime, and it can also be classified as a general Arab understanding on common issues related to security and development in a way that benefits the region as a whole and therefore each Arab country separately, which will have the interest and sovereign decision to go forward to enhance the reconciliations that took place among the Arabs themselves on the one hand. And between the Arabs and the influential regional countries such as Iran and Turkey on the other hand.
What is happening in the Arab world may be the most important since after the second Gulf War in 1991, and it is certain that it will benefit regional understandings or open a new page on the path of general Arab understandings, or so the pillars of Arab action in Jeddah hope.
This climate will reflect positively on Lebanon in terms of calm and the initiation of internal construction after everyone got tired of the past wars and divisions that did not benefit anyone and plunged the country into a major economic and social catastrophe.
However, this does not mean that solutions are close, as the road is still long and not paved with facilitating intentions, especially since the developments have proven that the Lebanese file has an internal conflict character, and that some parties, especially the Christians, can block any solution at their expense if they want to do so, even if it comes with an external directive.
All of this reinforces the idea that the next president who is not involved in pivotal positions will be the product of this general settlement. However, the matter is still immature, whether for the reluctance team to back down from its candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, or for the opposition team that did not agree on a candidate and does not want to burn the name of Jihad Azour after the Free Patriotic Movement withdrew from it (and it may have been proposed to him by maneuvering).
Indicators indicate a current presidential stalemate, and a period of anticipation for what the next few weeks will bring, amid an exchange of nomination balls and a burning of names.
