Report: Postponement of Talks on PM ‘Surprised’ Diplomats in Beirut

Diplomats in Beirut were surprised when outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri requested that President Michel Aoun postpone the consultations on a new PM “in order to garner bigger backing,” for his nomination, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday.

“The majority of ambassadors were astonished mainly that Hariri’s position was taken at a glance at the Center House. Shortly before, he was getting prepared to head to the Presidential Palace leading his parliamentary bloc to meet Aoun and name a Premier,” a source following up on the parliamentary consultations told the daily on condition of anonymity.

The source told Asharq al-Awsat that he “understands the stance of Hariri,” who refuses to assume the prime minister post without the backing of the Lebanese Forces party. But added that “Hariri must be aware and so must the influential political parties, that every delay will reflect negatively on the internal political situation and the exchange rate of the dollar, adding to the lingering political and security crisis."

An ambassador of a European country in Beirut who declined to be named, rejected the delay saying “it deprives the new government from confidence that will eventually negatively affect the projects that donors will provide to Lebanon, whether in infrastructure, implementation of CEDRE and projects to float liquidity in order to secure the regularity of banking system, which is getting worse.”

He said “we are waiting for the foreign ministers to meet and take a decision to urge a speedy formation of a government of independent specialists to start rebuilding before the economic and financial deterioration takes an irreversible turn.”