by middleeastmonitor.com — Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, said, Wednesday, his country is under siege, amid a diplomatic crisis with Gulf countries Anadolu News Agency reports. Speaking during a meeting with the head of Lebanon’s Editors-in-Chief Syndicate, Joseph Qossaifi, Berri questioned how Arab countries could open their doors for Israel, while they “close their gates in front of Lebanon, who paid a heavy price to preserve its Arab identity.” “Yes, Lebanon is facing a siege,” Berri said. “In order to reach solutions, there must be dialogue.”

Relations have strained between Lebanon and the Gulf countries following controversial statements by former Information Minister, George Kordahi on the Yemeni conflict before he took his post in the new Lebanese government. Angered by Kordahi’s comments, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Lebanon. In a bid to end the diplomatic row with the Gulf countries, Kordahi resigned from his post on 3 December. Lebanon seeks to end the diplomatic crisis with the Gulf, as the country is suffering a crippling economic crisis, amid fuel and medical supply shortages.