Uncertainty over a deal for Iraq to supply Lebanon with fuel oil is the last thing Lebanon’s struggling government can afford, but the cancellation of a key meeting in Baghdad has cast doubt over a planned barter arrangement.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab was supposed to meet his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad on 17 April, but the trip’s cancellation for “internal Iraqi reasons” has left a deal to supply Lebanese power stations with Iraqi fuel oil in limbo. Lebanon can ill afford uncertainty over access to fuel oil on which its battered power plants depend, especially as the government’s financial woes mean its options are limited. (CONTINUED - 904 WORDS)
