Libya has decided to recall its ambassador in Beirut after house speaker Nabih Berri failed to invite him to the opening session of the newly-elected parliament, Libyan diplomats said Monday.
Ali Mahmoud Maria, who has yet to leave Beirut, was being recalled to Tripoli for consultations because he was not invited to the October 17 inaugural session of the parliament voted in this summer, they told AFP.
They said the decision to recall the ambassador was relayed by the Libyan foreign ministry to Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss, who also holds the foreign ministry portfolio.
Berri has been the leader of the Shiite Amal movement since 1980, two years after the charismatic head of the group, Sheikh Mussa Sadr, disappeared in mysterious circumstances on a trip to Libya.
Lebanon's Shiite community blames Libya for Sadr's "disappearance", while Tripoli maintains the imam went missing after landing in Italy at the end of his visit to Libya.
The Libyan diplomats charged Berri's "behavior is contrary to diplomatic practice ... and harms the good Lebanese-Libyan relations."
In February, Berri refused to attend an official dinner given by President Emile Lahoud to honor Arab delegates because Libya's foreign minister was among those invited - BEIRUT (AFP)
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