Diplomatic row between Riyadh, Beirut deepens
Mariam Saleh
Press TV, Beirut
With the socio-economic crisis deepening in Lebanon, the Saudi regime is not making things any easier. Riyadh’s reaction to comments by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi, who had decried the Saudi war on Yemen is a stick being used against the Lebanese government. The main question is, will he step down?
But analysts believe the Saudi crown prince is trying to get concessions from Lebanon in return for funding the economic reform plan. Lebanese foreign minister Abdallah Bu Habib told AFP that he had invited the Saudis to the negotiating table in a bid to solve all the outstanding problems. Saudi Arabia is an Arab country he said which has historic brotherly ties with Lebanon, but then severed diplomatic ties without holding any talks.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati is also holding talks with other Arab states in Cop20 in Glasgow to see whether the diplomatic row can be eased. Now, observers say it all has to do with how the Americans deal with the Saudis.
While the crisis resulting from Minister Kordahi statements remains high, the Saudis themselves have declared that their campaign against Lebanon is a much bigger issue. Their ultimate goal in the last couple of decades seems to have been detaching Hezbollah from the Lebanese political scene.
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