BEIRUT — Lebanon is facing a "financial siege" imposed by international powers and its priority is staving off strife caused by the country's economic meltdown, leading politician Gebran Bassil said on Tuesday. Bassil, an ally of the Iran-backed Shi'ite group Hezbollah, said he supported talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), hoping they would pressure the state into reforms, but that Lebanon was running out of time and any foreign aid could not come at the price of sovereignty. Talks with the IMF were put on hold last week after becoming bogged down by a dispute on the Lebanese side over the scale of losses in the financial system and pending the start of reforms to address the root causes of the crisis, seen as the biggest threat to Lebanon's stability since the 1975-90 civil war. The government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, which is backed by Bassil and Hezbollah, has yet to embark on serious reforms sought by donors including the United States and France, which say Beirut must fix state waste and corruption before any aid is released.

Source: International New York Times July 07, 2020 18:00 UTC