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The country’s new administration, the first since 2022, comes after an unusually direct intervention by the United States which said any Hezbollah involvement would be a ‘red line’.
The EU’s foreign policy chief has issued a statement congratulating Lebanon after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed the country’s first fully-fledged government since 2022.In her statement, Kaja Kallas said she wished the new administration “full success in delivering the aspirations of the Lebanese people.””The EU reaffirms its steadfast support for the Lebanese people and in particular for the rebuilding of state institutions capable of fulfilling their missions at the service of all citizens.”President Joseph Aoun announced on Saturday that he had accepted the resignation of the former caretaker government and signed a decree with Salam on the formation of the new government.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 southern border after a devastating war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.A US-brokered ceasefire, which has largely held, ended the fighting in November.Lebanon is also 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 economy and bring about stability in a country which has faced numerous economic, political and security crises for decades.Though Hezbollah did not endorse Salam as prime minister, the Lebanese group did engage in negotiations with the new prime minister over the Shiite Muslim seats in government, as per Lebanon’s power-sharing system.Lebanon’s new authorities also mark a shift away from leaders that are close to Hezbollah, something which was pushed for by the United States which took on an unusually direct role in the formation of the new administration.The US deputy envoy for Middle East peace, Morgan Ortagus, said on Friday that any Hezbollah involvement in the new cabinet would be a “red line” for Washington and prevent Lebanon from accessing reconstruction funds.After talks with Lebanon’s prime minister and parliament speaker, Ortagus said she hoped Lebanese authorities were committed to making sure that Hezbollah isn’t a part of the new government in any form.
