This photo taken on Aug 18, 2020 shows a general view of the building of the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) at Leidschendam, the Netherlands. (KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

BEIRUT - Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minsiter Hassan Diab asked the UN secretary general in a letter on Friday to urgently explore ways of financing the Special Tribunal of Lebanon in light of funding difficulties.

"The Government of Lebanon would be grateful to Your Excellency for urgently exploring different and alternative means of financing the Tribunal with the Security Council and Member States," he said in the letter.

The Special Tribunal of Lebanon could close after July if a funding shortage is not resolved

An exclusive report by Reuters last week revealed that the UN tribunal, set up to prosecute those behind the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri had run out of funding amid Lebanon's economic and political crisis, threatening plans for future trials.

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The tribunal, which is 51 percent funded by voluntary contributions and 49 percent by the Lebanese government, could close after July if the funding shortage is not resolved.

On Thursday, judges at the tribunal scrapped a new trial against the man convicted of the 2005 Hariri assassination because of the expectations of a shut down.

READ MORE: UN tribunal scraps new trial of Hariri assassin due to funding crunch

Lebanon is in the throes of a deep financial crisis that is threatening its stability.

The crisis, which erupted in late 2019, has wiped out jobs, put more than half of the population under the poverty line and eroded about 90 percent of the value of the currency.

"While we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the STL, we firmly believe that these financial difficulties should not hinder the completion of its work to the end," Diab said.