French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has warned Lebanese officials that more sanctions will be imposed on the country if ruling politicians attempt to commit “collective suicide” by continuing the political deadlock.
There has been a political stalemate in Lebanon since the government collapsed in the wake of the deadly Beirut Port explosion in 2020, as politicians fail to agree on who should form a new government to address the nation’s challenges.
With a caretaker government led by interim Prime Minister Hassan Diab currently in place, pressure has mounted on Lebanon from France, the US and international organizations to end the political deadlock and start “working on the country’s recovery”.
Le Drian criticized the slow progress between political groups after a meeting with Lebanese president Michel Aoun, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and prime minister-designate Saad Hariri.
“It is indeed urgent to find a way out of the political deadlock… political players have not lived up to their responsibilities,” the French foreign minister said in a statement, warning he is “here precisely to prevent this kind of collective suicide organised by some.”
The threat of new sanctions comes weeks after France imposed entry restrictions on a number of Lebanese politicians who have been accused of impeding the negotiations on a new government, extending the political stalemate. The names of those impacted by the restrictions were not made public.
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