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French President Emmanuel Macron directed strong criticism of Lebanese political forces, including “Hezbollah,” in the context of their failure to form the new government under the initiative proposed by Paris.
During a press conference on Sunday, the day after Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib apologized for forming the government, Macron accused the political class in Lebanon of “taking the country hostage” and “abandoning their obligations. for the sake of their own interests, “noting that the events of the last few days demonstrated a lack of respect by Lebanese leaders for their promises to France.
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The French president blamed some Lebanese forces for seeking to strengthen the strength of their camps and not the strength of their state, by making the formation of the government a sectarian issue, expressing his conviction that the decision of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to adding the sectarian element to the distribution of ministerial portfolios during the formation of the government was a mistake.
Macron condemned, in particular, the “Hezbollah” and “Amal” movements, emphasizing that they “don’t want an agreement.”
He called on “Hezbollah” to clarify its position, saying that it cannot be an armed militia and a responsible political party at the same time.
Macron noted the lack of evidence that Iran, which Hezbollah has support, played a role in obstructing efforts to form the Lebanese government.
The French president warned that the new stage that Lebanon has entered represents not only a threat to this country, but to the entire region, saying: “A month has been lost and the risks are destabilizing the region now.”
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Despite these criticisms, Macron stressed that the French roadmap that he presented after the attack on the port of Beirut last August is still fresh and is the only option to get the country out of the crisis, pledging to continue pressuring Lebanon’s leadership to force him to implement this initiative.
Macron gave the Lebanese political class another four to six weeks to implement the French roadmap and form the government, ruling out imposing sanctions on Lebanese officials at the current stage.
He explained that punishing those who obstruct efforts to form a government in Lebanon does not appear to be a useful and useful tool now, indicating that France may consider this option in the future in consultation with other parties.
Macron also confirmed that Paris, in cooperation with the United Nations, plans to hold a new conference to mobilize support for Lebanon at the end of next October, noting that the French side will also hold a meeting in 20 days with the international contact group on Lebanon to discuss next steps.
Source: Reuters
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