Alghadeer TV Alghadeer TV
Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has presented a cabinet lineup to President Michel Aoun, in a move that could end a crippling political and economic crisis.
Hariri met Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda on Wednesday, and presented a 24-member cabinet proposal to the president.
“For me this government can start to rescue the country and stop the collapse,” Hariri told reporters after the meeting.
He said he is awaiting Aoun’s response on Thursday.
Since his designation in October, Hariri has reportedly been at loggerheads with Aoun over the naming of ministers.
The European Union (EU) agreed on Monday to create a sanctions regime targeting officials in Lebanon.
The EU, led by France — the former colonizer of Lebanon — is seeking to ramp up pressure on the Lebanese authorities in an attempt to force the formation of a Western-friendly government.
The Beirut government has been headed by a caretaker government since Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned in the wake of the catastrophic Beirut port explosion last August, which killed over 200 people.
Since then, Lebanese political groups have failed to resolve their differences and form a government.
