German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas slammed Lebanese political leaders on Wednesday for failing to form a government and fix the economic crisis, a year after a catastrophic blast in the port of Beirut
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2021) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas slammed Lebanese political leaders on Wednesday for failing to form a government and fix the economic crisis, a year after a catastrophic blast in the port of Beirut.
"The lack of reforms is also the reason why many of the wounds of the past are still open. The destroyed harbor remains a symbol of this," he told a virtual conference on Lebanon.
Maas defended the EU's decision to adopt a legal framework for sanctions on the cash-strapped country designed to force Lebanese politicians to put aside their differences and enact economic reforms.
"Any further aid - beyond immediate relief and support for reforms - will... depend on the formation of a functioning, legitimate government and a credible reform program," he stressed.
The conference was called by the UN and France to mark the first anniversary of explosion of thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been left unattended at the port for years. The blast wiped out Lebanon's main gateway for external trade, killing more than 280 people and injuring some 6,000.
