US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea has said that Washington backs the “legitimate demands” of anti-government protesters. The diplomat met on Friday Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab in a protocol visit at the start of her new mission. “The United States continues to back the protesters’ legitimate demands for economic opportunity, accountability, and transparency. Only by meeting those demands can Lebanon initiate the difficult process of restoring international confidence,” she said in a statement released by the embassy. She expressed honor to serve as the US ambassador to Lebanon and lauded the Lebanese people for their hospitality, resilience, diversity, and entrepreneurship. Shea said she discussed with Diab “the strength and potential of the US partnership with Lebanon, and our shared stake in a Lebanon that is stable, secure, and sovereign. This is a partnership that is vitally important not only to both of our countries, but to all of the countries in the region.” The Lebanese people “have rightly called for reform, an end to corruption, and the imposition of effective policies necessary to extricate Lebanon from its unprecedented economic crisis,” stated the ambassador. A wave of protests erupted last October against the countrys ruling elite, forcing the resignation of PM Saad Hariri. Diab has pledged that his new government would work to address protester demands and try to tackle Lebanon’s economic and financial strains. Shea said Friday that the US seeks a “bright future for the Lebanese people, who deserve a stable, secure, sovereign, and prosperous country.” “We stand with the Lebanese people in encouraging their government to effect real change in its policies, and to chart a course that will earn the confidence of those it means to govern – and, in doing so, secure the support of the international community,” she added.