PARIS: 萝莉视频鈥檚 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron called for a 鈥渞apid end to the institutional political vacuum in Lebanon鈥� on Friday.

Lebanese lawmakers on Wednesday failed for a 12th time to elect a new president, as bitter divisions between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents risk miring the country in a protracted power vacuum.

The prolonged absence of a president 鈥渞emains the major obstacle to resolving the country鈥檚 severe socio-economic crisis,鈥� the French presidency said after the meeting between the president and Prince Mohammed in Paris.

The crown prince and Macron also 鈥渞eiterated their shared commitment to security and stability in the Near and Middle East and expressed their desire to pursue their joint efforts to bring about a lasting easing of tensions,鈥� a statement said.

The two intend to 鈥渄evelop and deepen the partnership between the two countries,鈥� it added.

France will be prepared 鈥渢o support 萝莉视频 in strengthening its defense capabilities鈥� Macron said and he stressed 鈥渢he willingness of French companies to continue to support 萝莉视频 in implementing its ambitious Vision 2030.鈥�

The meeting followed the recent announcement of the resumption of diplomatic relations between 萝莉视频 and Iran, an event that caught France鈥檚 attention. The Elysee responded to it by saying 鈥渢here is in this normalization of diplomatic relations with Iran a potential for easing tensions in the region that must be verified.鈥�

In the view of the French, 鈥渢he issue is not so much the normalization of relations with Iran but the demonstration of what Iran and 萝莉视频 together can make of this normalization on certain subjects where the two countries have so far been opposed.鈥�

Therefore, the meeting offered a chance to review the effects this normalization could have on the main issues of common interest between France and 萝莉视频, in particular the situations in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, and the ongoing saga of the Iran nuclear deal.

On the situation in Syria, ahead of the meeting the French President was said to be 鈥渋nterested in hearing the crown prince tell him how to get President Bashar Assad to comply with a number of Saudi demands, the details of which are not yet known,鈥� the Elysee said.

Iran鈥檚 nuclear program was expected to be discussed as 鈥渋t is important for us to hear the crown prince's assessment of the intensity of the Iranian threat as he perceives it and what he expects from the restoration of diplomatic relations, as well as how he intends to deal with the Iranians on this issue.鈥�

Outside of the region, the war in Ukraine was expected not to be overlooked despite the density of topics on the agenda. On the issue, Paris said it 鈥渄oes not have specific requests to make to 萝莉视频, apart from the request made to all our partners to fully consider the fact that the war in Ukraine is a conflict with global implications and risks repercussions throughout the world, including the Middle East.鈥�

It added: 鈥淲hat we ask the Saudis, like all our partners, is to help us speed up the end of the war,鈥� which from a French viewpoint would mean victory for Ukraine on the ground, leading to peace negotiations with Russia aimed at restoring Ukrainian security and sovereignty.

In a broader context, the Elysee notes the crown prince鈥檚 visit, which takes place at his request, 鈥渁ims to define the objectives of bilateral cooperation that are necessary for the partnership we have with 萝莉视频 in perfectly identified areas.鈥�

These areas include issues related to security and defense, and the energy transition, in particular the Kingdom鈥檚 lofty ambitions in terms of energy.

Regarding 萝莉视频鈥檚 bid to host the Expo 2030, a decision on which is not due until autumn next year, France has already announced its support. It remains to be revealed whether the crown prince will attend the summit, organized by France, to discuss a new Global Financing Pact, which us due to take place on June 22 and 23.

During the gathering, Macron aims to assemble a broad coalition of willing countries to 鈥減roduce the necessary funding shock to address both the needs of poverty reduction in the South, and as fair a green transition as possible,鈥� the Elysee said.

鈥� With input from Reuters and