Recent comments made by Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab have drawn the ire of diplomats and ministers who attended a meeting on Tuesday in Beirut, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Addressing ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions in the capital, Diab blamed the situation in Lebanon on the international community, saying: “Lebanon is a few days away from the social explosion. The Lebanese are facing this dark fate alone.”
The sources said the ambassadors “unanimously agreed that Lebanon means a lot to their respective countries, which have spared no effort to prevent the collapse, while the Lebanese authorities have not taken any steps” to implement the much-needed reforms
The sources noted that the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, responded to Diab, saying that Washington was not waiting for anyone “to ask us for help, since we are helping the army and civil society and increasing our contributions.”
She stressed that the Lebanese government was not helping itself and that it has failed to implement reforms, underlining her country’s insistence on the need for the immediate formation of a new government.
The sources said French Ambassador Anne Grillo emphasized that the blame for the crisis in the country lied with a succession of ruling authority.
Grillo said: “The current situation in Lebanon is the result of mismanagement by the successive officials, who are still making mistakes; it is not the result of an external blockade.”
She pointed that French President Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon immediately after the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, “extended a helping hand and laid out a roadmap, which was not heeded.”
The French diplomat also said that her country “supported civil society organizations and provided humanitarian, medical and educational aid.”
“There must be an effective government, but that does not prevent the caretaker cabinet from carrying out its responsibilities,” Grillo was quoted as saying.
The sources said that the Kuwaiti ambassador to Lebanon, Abdel-Al Al-Qenai, said that his country “supported projects financed by the Kuwaiti and Islamic Funds” and offered assistance “to rehabilitate the electricity network, but received no response from the authorities.”
