Le Drian Meets Lebanese Leaders, Tries Break Govt Deadlock

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian walks after a meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian walks after a meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
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Le Drian Meets Lebanese Leaders, Tries Break Govt Deadlock

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian walks after a meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon May 6, 2021. (Reuters)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian walks after a meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon May 6, 2021. (Reuters)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met Lebanese leaders on Thursday to try to break the deadlock in months of talks on forming a government to pull Lebanon out of economic crisis.

Le Drian met President Michel Aoun and influential Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Both are allies of Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and is a close ally of Syria.

He has also asked to meet Gebran Bassil, the head of Lebanon’s biggest Christian parliamentary bloc and Aoun’s son-in-law, who was hit with US sanctions last year for alleged corruption and his ties to Hezbollah.

Officials had declined to confirm a meeting with Saad al-Hariri, a three-time premier who was designated to form a new government in October but has been locked in a stand-off with Aoun over the line-up, according to Reuters.

Two diplomats said Le Drian wanted to send a clear message that Paris supports the Lebanese people, but that it had had enough of the political class that had failed to meet its commitments.

"He came to Beirut to give Lebanese officials a strongly worded message, to tell them 'Lebanon is sinking and you are the ones sinking it even more...And if you don't help yourselves, nobody can help you'," a senior Lebanese political source said.

Paris said last month it was taking measures to restrict entry to France for Lebanese officials accused of blocking efforts to resolve the crisis, which has crashed the currency, paralyzed the banking sector and increased poverty.

Before flying to Beirut, Le Drian warned of punitive measures against those who were hindering progress.

“It is only the beginning,” he tweeted.



UK FM Calls Israeli Attacks on Gaza Hospital 'Deplorable'

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
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UK FM Calls Israeli Attacks on Gaza Hospital 'Deplorable'

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo

British foreign minister David Lammy condemned Israel's attacks on medical facilities in Gaza on Sunday after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside a Gaza hospital.

"Israel's attacks on medical facilities have comprehensively degraded access to healthcare in Gaza," Lammy said in a short post on social media, Reuters reported.

"Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began. These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we will achieve a lasting peace."