Report: Bassil Canceled Saudi Trip over Dispute on Condemnation of Hizbullah
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil had intended to travel to Saudi Arabia over the weekend but the visit was canceled the last minute over Riyadh's role in pushing for the adoption of a statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council that condemns Hizbullah, sources said.
Bassil, a Free Patriotic Movement official, denied on Monday that he visited Riyadh to meet with Saudi officials or possibly al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri.
But the sources that are close to FPM chief MP Michel Aoun told As Safir daily published on Tuesday that Bassil had intended to travel to Saudi Arabia but the visit was canceled over the country's insistence to include a clause that condemns Hizbullah in the closing statement of the Council's annual meeting in Geneva.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are reportedly leading the campaign to criticize Hizbullah's role in Syria. The party has sent its members to fight alongside troops loyal to Syrian President Bahsar Assad.
Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, another FPM official, also denied on Monday that his recent trip to Saudi Arabia was “political.”
Bou Saab has visited Riyadh three times in less than two months, said As Safir.
He said that his latest mission to the Saudi capital was intended for discussions on issues linked to his ministry, adding that he only met his Saudi counterpart.
The report in As Safir came as the daily said that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal reiterated to Hariri his rejection to see Aoun reaching the Baabda Palace.
The palace has been vacant since President Michel Suleiman's term ended in May 2014.
The rivalry between Aoun and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and the interference of regional powers are to be blamed for the vacuum.
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