BEIRUT: France on Friday warned Lebanon it could lose the international community's goodwill and much-needed investments if it takes any longer to form a government.
Lebanon's economy has looked on the brink of collapse for some time but a Paris conference dubbed CEDRE in April earned it $11 billion in aid pledges.
Polls held the following month gave Saad Hariri a new term as prime minister but Lebanon's fractious political class has since failed to agree on a government line-up.
Seven months on, a breakthrough does not seem imminent and French Ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher warned that Lebanon stood to lose a lot.
"We deeply regret that our Lebanese friends are not able to agree on a government," he said during a press conference held on a French frigate making a stop in Beirut.
The amounts pledged in Paris were unexpectedly high and other conferences have also mustered support for Lebanon, whose economy has been in a downward spiral for years due to political divisions and corruption.
The outbreak of violence in neighbouring Syria in 2011 added to those woes, keeping tourists away and triggering a massive influx of refugees that has strained public services.
"The lack of a government in Lebanon means running the risk that this dynamic in the international community is lost," Foucher said.
"That moment could pass."
The French envoy explained that a new government was needed to undertake the programme contained in the CEDRE plan and warned that investors would not wait for forever.
"There are other countries that may need international assistance," he said.
Government formation is often a drawn-out process in Lebanon, where a complex governing system seeks to maintain a precarious balance of power between its various political and religious communities.
Rudderless Lebanon could miss out on aid, France warns
Rudderless Lebanon could miss out on aid, France warns
- Lebanon's economy has looked on the brink of collapse for some time but a Paris conference dubbed CEDRE in April earned it $11 billion in aid pledges
- Polls held in May gave Saad Hariri a new term as prime minister but Lebanon's fractious political class has since failed to agree on a government line-up
Iran FM criticizes Israel for ‘doctrine of domination’
- Doctrine allows Israel to expand its military arsenal while pressuring other countries in the region to disarm
- His remarks came a day after renewed nuclear talks with Washington in Oman
DOHA: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday criticized what he said was a “doctrine of domination” that allows Israel to expand its military arsenal while pressuring other countries in the region to disarm.
His remarks came a day after renewed nuclear talks with Washington, with previous talks collapsing when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June that triggered a 12-day war.
Araghchi was speaking at the Al Jazeera Forum conference in Qatar but made no reference to Friday’s talks with the United States.
“Israel’s expansionist project requires that neighboring countries be weakened: militarily, technologically, economically and socially,” Araghchi said.
“Under this project Israel is free to expand its military arsenal without limits ... Yet other countries are demanded to disarm. Others are pressured to reduce defensive capacity. Others are punished for scientific progress,” he added.
“This is a doctrine of domination.”
During the 12-day war Israel targeted senior Iranian military officials, nuclear scientists and sites as well as residential areas, with the US later launching its own attacks on key nuclear facilities.
Iran responded at the time with drone and missile attacks on Israel, as well as by targeting the largest US military base in the Middle East, located in Qatar.
On Friday, Araghchi led the Iranian delegation in indirect nuclear talks with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat.
The top Iranian diplomat later described the atmosphere as having been “very positive,” while US President Donald Trump said the talks were “very good,” with both sides agreeing to proceed with further negotiations.
The talks followed threats from Washington and its recent deployment of an aircraft carrier group to the region following Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests last month.
The United States has sought to address Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups in the region — issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks, according to media reports.
Tehran has repeatedly rejected expanding the scope of negotiations beyond the nuclear issue.
