Bassil says he does not expect US sanctions against him to be lifted before the presidential election

BEIRUT — Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil said Wednesday that he “doesn’t expect US sanctions against [him] to be lifted before the presidential elections” during an interview with TV station Al-Mayadeen. The term of Lebanon’s current president, Michel Aoun, who is Bassil’s father-in-law, ends in October.

Here’s what we know:

    • Bassil described the sanctions as a “political decision.” The Batroun MP had told L’Orient Today recently one could be the “Lebanese president despite being sanctioned.” In 2020, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the FPM head, who, according to then-US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, “exemplified systemic corruption in Lebanon’s political system.”

    • Commenting on the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15, Bassil said that “there’s nothing imposing that Berri should be re-elected as parliament speaker.” Nabih Berri has been parliament speaker since 1992. Berri also leads the Amal Movement, with which the FPM head has been described as having “political differences.” Bassil also commented on his political rival, Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea, saying Sunni public opinion would “not accept his leadership” while offering “to cooperate with Sunnis, if they feel misrepresented.”

    • Bassil added that the FPM is preparing a complaint “regarding the breach of electoral rules on the financial level.”

The FPM leader went on to remark on the role of Saudi Arabia in the runup to the polls. The kingdom this month renewed its diplomatic relations with Lebanon after a serious crisis triggered last October. “No interference by Saudi Arabia in the elections has appeared to us so far on the financial level," Bassil said. He also called for a “relation of friendship” with the kingdom “that is not based on complacency or material interests.”

    • Commenting on his prior announcement of a potential visit to Syria, Bassil said that it bears no relation to the elections but rather to serve “Lebanon’s political and economic interests” and would occur after the ballot.

    • Bassil added that the FPM’s relations with Russia are “excellent” and claimed he would have contested the Foreign Ministry’s statement denouncing the Russian invasion of Ukraine if he had been informed of its content before its release.

    • The US sanctions target Bassil’s mandates in the telecommunications, energy and foreign affairs ministries alleging that “in 2017, Bassil strengthened his political base by appointing friends to positions and purchasing other forms of influence within Lebanese political circles. In 2014, while energy minister, Bassil was involved in approving several projects that would have steered Lebanese government funds to individuals close to him through a group of front companies.”