Lebanon's president calls for national dialog, renews call for government to convene

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun is pictured as he delivers a televised speech at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon December 27, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon's President Michel Aoun called on Monday for an "urgent" national dialog on decentralization to reach an understanding on a much-needed economic recovery plan.

The economy has been in freefall since 2019, when a mountain of debt and political gridlock drove the nation into its deepest crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.