The US embassy to Lebanon said on Saturday it welcomed the new Lebanese government and hoped it would implement reforms and rebuild state institutions.
Lebanon formed a new cabinet on Saturday, following unusually direct US intervention in the process and in a step intended to bring the country closer to accessing reconstruction funds following a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s cabinet of 24 ministers, split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, was formed less than a month after he was appointed, and comes at a time where Lebanon is scrambling to rebuild its battered southern region and maintain security along its borders.
Though Hezbollah did not endorse Salam as prime minister, the group did engage in negotiations with the new prime minister over the Shiite seats in government, as per Lebanon’s power-sharing system.
US envoy Morgan Ortagus said in a speech in Beirut Friday that Washington had “set clear red lines from the United States” that Hezbollah would not be “a part of the government.” The comments drew backlash from many in Lebanon who saw them as meddling in internal Lebanese affairs.
Lebanon is still in the throes of a crippling economic crisis, now in its sixth year, which has battered its banks, destroyed its state electricity sector and left many in poverty unable to access their savings.
Salam, a diplomat and former president of the International Court of Justice, has vowed to reform Lebanon’s judiciary and battered economy and bring about stability in the troubled country, which has faced numerous economic, political, and security crises for decades.
