Saudi Arabia returns its ambassador to Lebanon after 5 months
April 8, 2022, 10:44 am

Saudi Arabia returns its ambassador to Lebanon after 5 months

The flag of Saudi Arabia. (Supplied)

The Anews reported, citing the Anadolu Agency, Saudi Arabia announced Thursday (Apr 7) that it was returning its ambassador to Lebanon after a five-month break in ties.

In an official statement, the Foreign Ministry said it would re-appoint Ambassador Waleed Bukhari to Beirut "in response to the calls and appeals of moderate national political forces in Lebanon."

It said Lebanese premier Najib Mikati had shown a commitment to cooperate more with Riyadh and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to stop political, military and security activities affecting the country and the region.

It added: "The Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) stresses the importance of the return of the Republic of Lebanon to its Arab depth represented by its national institutions and origins, that Lebanon maintain security and peace."

The crisis between the two countries erupted in October 2021 when former Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi criticized Saudi Arabia for its stance on Yemen.

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In response, Riyadh, along with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), suspended diplomatic and commercial ties with Lebanon, though the broken relations failed to recover even after Kordahi's resignation.

Lebanese premier Mikati said last month that his country was committed to fixing strained ties with the GCC and Riyadh and that the activities of organizations based in Lebanon that threaten the sovereignty, security and stability of the GCC and Saudi Arabia should be halted.

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This prompted a process of reconciliation between the conflicting sides as the Saudi Foreign Ministry welcomed the "positive points" of the premier's statement.

Source: anadoluagency

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.