In a serious development that would intensify the complexity of the crisis in Lebanon following the collapse of Saad Hariri's government, the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Wednesday morning said his country would stop its joint mediation efforts conducted with Syria. Al-Faisal was quoted as saying: "The situation in Lebanon is dangerous," noting that this new decision came following the "directives of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz."
Faisal added: "If things come to separation and the division of Lebanon, this is the end of Lebanon as a state, which allows the peaceful coexistence of different religions, nationalities, and sects. The Saudi minister arrived late Monday in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, as the head of the Saudi delegation to the preparatory ministerial meetings of the Arab Economic Summit. He also heads the Saudi delegation to the Summit.
