Lebanon: Final US Warning For Politicians Obstructing Government Formation

Lebanon: Final US Warning For Politicians Obstructing Government Formation

On the first day of his visit to Beirut, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale advised Lebanese politicians to speed up the formation of a new government, warning that continued stalling would further drag the country into total collapse, well-informed Lebanese sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

According to the sources, the message that Hale would deliver to President Michel Aoun during their meeting this Thursday would go beyond a mere call to form the government to directly hold the president responsible for the ongoing obstruction.

Hale would be implicitly hinting at the negative role assumed by Aoun's political heir and son-in-law - the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Gebran Bassil - in putting obstacles to the birth of the new government.

The same sources confirmed that Hale asked about the reasons behind the stalled resumption of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the demarcation of the maritime borders under the auspices of the United Nations and with American mediation.

They noted that Speaker Nabih Berri has informed the US official that he put the framework agreement for the negotiations without defining the disputed maritime areas, leaving the negotiation task to the Lebanese delegation.

According to the sources, Berri emphasized that he