Safadi Agrees to Be Lebanon’s New Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Says

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil stated that former Minister of Finance Mohammad Ahmed Safadi agreed to assume the post of prime minister in a new government, Lebanese MTV reported.

Bassil further praised Safadi as an appropriate person to occupy the position, although his candidacy has yet to be approved by the country's major political factions.

Lebanon has recently been rocked by weeks-long protests over the government's plans to introduce a tax on online calls made via the WhatsApp messenger, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Bassil said that consultations on the new government are expected to kick off on 18 November and expressed his belief that the process won't take too long, since all key political parties agree that it must be done quickly.

Bassil also warned that the recent events have sped up the economic collapse in the country, stressing that in order to prevent this, the nation will not only need a "salvation government", but also international support for the its economy.