US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf warned Lebanese officials on Friday that the situation in their country cannot persist amid the crippling economic, living and political crises it is enduring.
Leaf had arrived in Beirut as part of a tour of the region that includes Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia.
A State Department statement said she would stress to Lebanese officials the pressing need to elect a president, form a government and carry out economic reforms that would restore stability in Lebanon.
Leaf met with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib MIkati, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and head of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblatt.
The International Monetary Fund had warned on Thursday that Lebanon was in a very dangerous situation a year after it committed to reforms it has failed to implement and said the government must stop borrowing from the central bank.
"One would have expected more in terms of implementation and approval of legislation" related to reforms, IMF mission chief Ernesto Rigo said from Beirut, noting "very slow" progress.
Lebanon signed a staff-level agreement with the IMF nearly one year ago but has not met the conditions to secure a full program, which is seen as crucial for its recovery from one of the world's worst financial crises.
Without implementing rapid reforms, Lebanon "will be mired in a never-ending crisis," the IMF warned in a written statement after Rigo's remarks.
Following her meeting with Berri, Leaf told reporters that she informed him that the situation in Lebanon cannot persist, urging an agreement with the IMF over a solution as soon as possible.
Her talks with FM Bou Habib tackled the impact the Saudi-Iranian deal to restore relations would have on the region, said local media.
