BEIRUT: Lebanon is in free fall and must not become a “horror story”, a US senator said during a visit to Beirut, voicing hope that a government would be formed this week to start addressing its destabilising financial meltdown.
The comment reflected growing concern about the situation in Lebanon, where a financial collapse that began in 2019 hit a crunch point last month with a crippling fuel shortage that sparked security incidents and warnings of worse to come.
Another senator in the US congressional delegation said Iranian fuel being shipped to Lebanon by the Hezbollah would come with strings attached, dismissing it as an attempted “photo-op”.
The financial crisis marks the biggest threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 1975-90 civil war. More than half of Lebanon’s 6 million people have fallen into poverty. The World Bank says it is one of the sharpest depressions of modern times, with the currency plunging more than 90 per cent and the financial system paralysed.
“Lebanon is in free fall… We’ve seen this movie before and it’s a horror story…, but the good news is it can, should, and hopefully will be avoided,” Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters at the end of a two-day visit on Thursday.
Lebanese politicians, who have failed to do anything to arrest the collapse, have been squabbling for more than a year over the make-up of a new cabinet to replace the one that quit in the aftermath of the August 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion.
A new cabinet capable of implementing reforms is a necessary precursor to foreign aid. The United States is the biggest foreign aid donor to Lebanon.
The congressional delegation met Lebanese leaders including President Michel Aoun, the Maronite Christian head of state, who expressed hope the government would be formed this week, the presidency said in a statement. — Retuers
