Amid all the optimism surrounding US President Donald Trump’s Gulf tour and decision to lift sanctions on Syria this week (MEES, 16 May), a sense of opportunity is also growing in Syria’s western neighbor Lebanon.
Marred by a devastating conflict with Israel last year and a five-year economic depression, Lebanon formed a government in January which for the first time in decades does not include Iran-backed Hezbollah. This signals a reset in its foreign relations with closer ties to the US, France, and Arab Gulf states (MEES, 17 January). (CONTINUED - 265 WORDS)
