By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia has expressed its support for the people of Lebanon and its desire to bolster ties between the two nations following the return of its envoy to Beirut. Walid Bukhari, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, told Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday that “the Kingdom is keen on helping the Lebanese people during difficult circumstances and strengthening relations between the two countries.” According to the president’s media office, the two men discussed bilateral relations and Bukhari told Aoun about “the mechanism of the Saudi-French joint fund aimed at providing humanitarian support and achieving stability and development in Lebanon.”

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states recalled their ambassadors from Lebanon in October in protest against insulting statements made by former Information Minister George Qordahi regarding the war in Yemen. Bukhari last met Aoun in March 2021. That meeting took place after a failed attempt to form a government led by former Premier Saad Hariri and the exchange of accusations of disrupting the process between Hariri and Aoun. Since returning to Beirut, Bukhari has held talks with religious authorities, current and former prime ministers and interior ministers, foreign diplomats and other politicians.

Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdul-Al Sulaiman Al-Qenaei has also returned to Beirut. He said after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday that “restoring diplomatic relations and the return of ambassadors indicate the success of the Kuwaiti initiative.” He added that both Lebanon and the Gulf states had mutually agreed that their long history was above everything else and that “what happened is in the past and the return of ambassadors will lead to further rapprochement and cooperation that benefit the brotherly countries.”

By Nicholas Noe -- responsiblestatecraft.org -- When President Biden appointed his personal friend and former Obama administration energy coordinator Amos Hochstein as his own energy envoy last summer, it seemed that the decades-old deadlock between Lebanon and Israel over their sea boundary, and potentially tens of billions of dollars in energy resources, might finally be resolved. Hochstein was assumed to be trusted by the Israelis (he was born in Israel and served in the IDF in the early 1990s). He was perceived positively by some of the main Lebanese actors as a foe of a former U.S. envoy, Ambassador Frederic Hof, who had tabled a deal ten years before known as the “Hof Line” boundary that was widely seen in Lebanon as exceptionally unfair. And he came with a deep background in the complexities of the energy sector.

Perhaps most importantly, however, the Biden administration seemed hungry to claim a success in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Although a mutually agreed-upon sea boundary between Lebanon and Israel would fall far short of any Abraham Accord-type arrangement, such a deal would represent a UN-recognized boundary between a democratically elected Arab government and Israel. Given the extensive power of the armed Lebanese political party Hezbollah, which Israel considers its most formidable non-state enemy, the removal of a large offshore area from the regular military exchanges between the two sides onshore would also help to structurally diminish the prospects of another devastating war in the Middle East, something the Biden administration very much wants to avoid.

Unfortunately, eight months on, according to several senior Lebanese officials directly involved in the negotiations, the deal that Hochstein unveiled a few weeks ago in Beirut, one which apparently has Israel’s blessing, falls far short of Lebanon’s minimum acceptable position. As a result, the talks are in imminent danger of collapsing, perhaps in the coming weeks. Asked about this prospect, the State Department and U.S. Embassy in Beirut both declined to comment.

by Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari praised Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s efforts to protect his country and restore relations with the Kingdom. It came as the ambassador held meetings throughout the day with Lebanese leaders on Monday, concluding with a grand iftar held at the Saudi Embassy in Beirut for Lebanese national figures, including Mikati and other former prime ministers. The improvement of Saudi diplomatic activity has an important political dimension in Lebanon, with the country preparing for parliamentary elections. Hezbollah’s rush to help its allies win an overwhelming majority in preparation for holding presidential elections in its favor is offset by the opposition currently finding itself fragmented. At the end of October, Saudi Arabia summoned its ambassador to Lebanon for consultations and demanded the departure of the Lebanese ambassador from the Kingdom within 48 hours. The rapid deterioration of diplomatic relations between the two states came against the background of offensive statements made by former Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi about the Kingdom.

Riyadh accused Hezbollah of “controlling the decision (making) of the Lebanese state, turning Lebanon into an arena and launching pad for implementing (the) projects of countries that do not wish the best for Lebanon and its brotherly people, who — from all sects and religions — have historical ties with the Kingdom.” Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, meanwhile, welcomed the return of the Saudi ambassador to Beirut. During his meeting on Monday with the ambassador, he stressed the importance of maintaining the special relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council states, particularly Saudi Arabia.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday he will visit Saudi Arabia during the Muslim holy month of …