Al Arabiya — Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, French President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati held a phone call on Saturday during which all three countries agreed to work together on reforms in Lebanon. “His Excellency the Lebanese Prime Minister expressed Lebanon’s appreciation for the great efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France to stand by the Lebanese people and the commitment of the Lebanese government to take everything that would strengthen relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and reject everything that would harm their security and stability,” the Saudi Press Agency reported on the call. “It was agreed between the three countries to work together to support the comprehensive reforms necessary in Lebanon,” the statement added.
Macron announced on Saturday a Saudi-French initiative to solve a diplomatic row between several Gulf states and Lebanon. Saudi Arabia expelled Lebanon’s envoy to the kingdom, recalled its ambassador to Beirut and banned Lebanese imports after comments made by former Lebanese information minister George Kordahi.
Macron announces Saudi-French initiative to solve diplomatic crisis with Lebanon
by reuters — Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi resigned on Friday to help end a diplomatic spat with Saudi Arabia over comments he had made in October criticising Saudi Arabia’s role in the war in Yemen, which had prompted Riyadh to ban Lebanese imports. French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Saudi Arabia for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) as part of a Gulf tour, told reporters Riyadh had committed to re-engage financially in the short-term. “We are therefore now going to work in a very concrete way to put this together between the two of us,” he said, without providing specifics.
The two leaders spoke with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Macron said he would call his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Aoun, on his return to Paris. Mikati said in a statement that the call had been an “important step” in restoring relations with the Gulf states. Macron has led international efforts to resolve the political and economic crisis in Lebanon. But despite staking a lot of his capital on the issue for more than a year he has failed so far to push the country’s squabbling politicians to carry out economic reforms that would unlock vital foreign aid.
In October, Riyadh expelled Lebanon’s envoy to the kingdom, recalled its ambassador to Beirut and banned Lebanese imports following the remarks by Kordahi on Saudi Arabia’s role in the Yemen war. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain took similar steps against Lebanon following the Saudi move. Kordahi said on Friday when he resigned that he was acting in his country’s interest to help end the dispute. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran have long battled for influence in the region, including in Lebanon, which is struggling with a deep economic crisis and desperately needs financial support from regional and international donors. (REUTERS)
