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Beirut – Western powers seeking to save Lebanon’s economy that is on the verge of collapse have issued an ultimatum to the country’s leaders unless a credible government is formed to lift the country out of its crises.
The country’s politicians are running out of patience with France, the United States and other donor countries that had previously provided aid to Lebanon.
Two sources who participated in the talks in Beirut last week revealed that Patrick Daryl, an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron on Middle East and North Africa affairs, made it clear in the talks that while Paris kept its promises, “we will not save them. unless there are renovations. “
Lebanon is facing collapse in light of the accelerating deterioration of the financial and economic situation and the absence of external support. Major powers interested in the Lebanese question are withholding their help to carry out radical reforms.
A Western diplomat said France was still trying to organize a conference to discuss reconstruction in Beirut in late November, but doubts “persist.”
The diplomat added: “There is no news. Lebanese politicians have returned to their way of working, and the worrying thing is the total disregard for the people.”
Like financial aid, France sponsors efforts to form the new Lebanese government and strives to reduce disparities between political forces in Lebanon.
At a time when Saad Hariri, the prime minister-designate, seeks to form a government, political circles see that efforts have been complicated by the recent sanctions imposed by the United States on Gebran Bassil, the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun and who heads the Patriotic Movement. Libre, the largest Christian party in the country.
The sanctions were imposed on Bassil based on allegations of corruption and his ties to the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah, which is a strike force for Tehran in the region and which Washington considers a terrorist group.
Political sources say that the main stumbling block preventing the formation of the government is Aoun and Bassil’s insistence on appointing ministers in the government that consists of 18 ministers.
Dorothy Chia, the US ambassador to Lebanon, believes that the United States “realizes that Lebanon is important” and that “avoiding state failure should be the top priority.”
He stressed that there are no rescue plans without reforms in Lebanon, and called on donors to stay where they are, otherwise the political elite will not take them seriously.
The US ambassador said: “If they don’t feel the importance of the element of time in forming a government, how can we keep pushing them?” However, some officials in Lebanon cautioned against the waiting game.
A high-level political source familiar with the talks said: “The message from the French is now clear: there is no government, there is no reform, so goodbye. Thank you.”
And if the French wash their hands on this matter, who will look at us?
“At the end of the day, they don’t know how to deal with the exceptional circumstances and challenges … We continue to deal with the formation of the government as if we were living normal days,” he said.
