French FM In Beirut To Up Pressure On Leaders

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 06, 2021 | 01:41 PM

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian started a day of high-level meetings in Beirut Thursday aimed at ratcheting up the pressure on Lebanon's leaders to break the political deadlock

Beirut, May 6 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th May, 2021 ) :French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian started a day of high-level meetings in Beirut Thursday aimed at ratcheting up the pressure on Lebanon's leaders to break the political deadlock.

He met President Michel Aoun and was also expected to hold talks with parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

"Firmness against those who are blocking the formation of a government: we have taken national measures and it's only the beginning," Le Drian said in a statement on social media.

France announced last week that it had begun restricting access to French territory for Lebanese figures it did not name.

Le Drian said at the time that further measures may be coordinated with other countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon several times last year in the aftermath of a deadly explosion at Beirut port that shocked the world and was widely blamed on government corruption and incompetence.

He warned that international support for the country, whose economy is in tailspin, would hinge on far-reaching reform.