Before leaving back to Cairo, Yousef said that more time was needed to assess the situation in Lebanon, but added that "doors and windows" are beginning to open up for a solution.

In a related issue, Syrian vice Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad accused Washington of an endeavor to appoint "a US president on Lebanon." Mekdad stressed his country backs all efforts to elect a president agreed upon by all Lebanese parties. The Financial Times quoted Mekdad as saying that Damascus hopes stability would prevail in Lebanon with a president who would not conceal enmity to Syria. Mekdad also told the Times that his country will not interfere in the voting process nor will it suggest candidates. He said Syria and France have agreed on this and at the same time, he dismissed some Lebanese accusations to Syria of seeking a chaotic result from elections as baseless.

Last October, the FMs of France, Italy and Spain visited Beirut but failed in their bid to break the deadlock.
In the meantime, the Elysee's general director Claude Gueant left Beirut late on Friday, after meeting different officials and politicians. Some observers see that Gueant's visit was a fact finding mission that would establish a second step to be decided later by President Nicholas Sarkozy, especially that the French President had been reportedly mandated by both Washington and Damascus to find a way to end the deadlock. According to sources, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir had informed Gueant that he will not get involved the "game" of naming candidates, while Speaker Nabih Berri and MP Saad Hariri told the French envoy that they were waiting from him to carry a list of names of candidates suggested by Sfeir.

Also on Friday, Arab League chief Amr Moussa's assistant Hisham Yousef lef Beirut, after he wrapped up his tour of senior Lebanese officials and leaderships over the presidential vote.