Anyone celebrating the failure of a French initiative to get Lebanon’s fractious leaders to form a new government will regret wasting the opportunity, former prime minister Saad al-Hariri said on Saturday.
“We say to those who applaud the collapse of French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative today, that you will bite your fingers in regret,” he said in a statement.
His comments came soon after Prime Minister designate Mustapha Adib announced he would be stepping down from his position amid political impasse over the formation of a new government cabinet.
The prime minister designate said he was stepping down from “the task of forming the government” after a meeting with President Michel Aoun.
The formation of a new cabinet was expected to be complete by September 15 but efforts were hindered by ongoing disagreements between competing political forces.
