Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday held a meeting in Bkirki with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly and the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

 

The meeting was held following an invitation from the patriarch. “The Patriarch underlined to us his concern about the continuing inability of Parliament to elect a President and the resultant vacancy in the office of the Presidency. We share that concern,” the envoys said in a statement recited by Plumbly after the meeting.

 

“The process of selecting a new President must remain a Lebanese one. But Lebanon’s friends in the international community have a strong interest in its completion successfully, and as soon as possible,” added the statement.