US AMBASSADOR TO LEBANON SUMMONED AMID TENSION

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry on January 17 summoned the US ambassador over concerns that she is interfering with internal politics after the Shiite militant group Hezbollah forced the collapse of the Western-backed government last week

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August 18, 2022

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry on January 17 summoned the US ambassador over concerns that she is interfering with internal politics after the Shiite militant group Hezbollah forced the collapse of the Western-backed government last week, officials said. The controversy stems from a meeting last weekend between US envoy Maura Connelly and lawmaker Nicolas Fattouch, who is seen as a key “undecided” lawmaker as Lebanon’s political factions scramble to form a new government. Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami “considers these kinds of contacts as interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs,” the ministry said in a statement.

After the meeting with Shami, Connelly’s office denied any interference. “She explained to the foreign minister that the United States embassy has regular contact with personalities from across Lebanon’s political spectrum as part of its diplomatic mission,” an embassy spokesman said. The diplomatic spat is the latest fallout from Lebanon’s government collapse. Hezbollah’s ministers and their allies resigned from the government on January 12 in a dispute over indictments in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minster Rafik Hariri.