Lebanese-Saudi relations warm up

Published November 13th, 2016 - 12:00 GMT
(L to R) Lebanese Army chief Jean General Jean Kahwaji, Lebanese Defende Minister Samir Moqbel, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri and French Defende minister Jean-Yves Le Drian take part in a hand-over ceremony of a shipment of Saudi-funded French weapons to the Lebanese Army at Beirut International Airport on 20 April, 2015. (AFP/File)
(L to R) Lebanese Army chief Jean General Jean Kahwaji, Lebanese Defende Minister Samir Moqbel, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri and French Defende minister Jean-Yves Le Drian take part in a hand-over ceremony of a shipment of Saudi-funded French weapons to the Lebanese Army at Beirut International Airport on 20 April, 2015. (AFP/File)

The meeting of Saudi Charge d'affairs Walid al-Bukhari with caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Friday signaled an improvement in relations between Lebanon and the Gulf States after an earlier deterioration in ties, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Discussions between the two men focused on the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, reports had said.

Al-Bukhari conveyed two messages to Bassil, the first from the Saudi authorities and another from his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir.

No details were revealed about the content of the messages.

Unnamed sources at the foreign ministry described the atmospheres of talks and told the daily: “Dialogue was positive, and the meeting came after previous strained relations between Lebanon and the Gulf State. There is no turning back and the Lebanese-Saudi relations are back on the right track.

“Lebanon adheres to good relations with Riyadh and the Gulf,” they concluded.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated in February after Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion program for military supplies to Lebanon in protest against Hizbullah's policies and diplomatic stances by the Lebanese foreign ministry, warned its citizens against traveling to Lebanon.

 

 

 

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