Hariri Urges Saudi to Treat Lebanon as 'Elder Brother' as Salam Calls for Reversing Decision on Aid
Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri called Friday on Saudi Arabia to be an “elder brother” for Lebanon after the kingdom decided to halt military aid worth $4 billion to Lebanon in connection with a row with Hizbullah.
The Saudi move was “in response to unwise decisions to remove Lebanon from the Arab consensus and put the foreign policy of the Lebanese State in the service of regional axes, as happened recently in the last meeting of the Arab foreign ministers and the meeting of Islamic nations,” said Hariri in a statement.
“Lebanon can only gain from those silly policies ... the procedures and measures that we are seeing and which threaten the core interests of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who are present in various Arab countries,” he warned.
He reminded that Saudi Arabia and all Arab Gulf states “have always supported Lebanon in the toughest circumstances,” while “Hizbullah and its tools in politics and the media keep on launching the worst campaigns” against the kingdom.
“The dignity of the Kingdom and its leadership is the dignity of the Lebanese honest people, who will not remain silent over the crime of jeopardizing the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese people,” he added.
“Those who think that Lebanon could suddenly turn into an Iranian province are delusional and they are manipulating the fate of the country and making the decision to drag themselves and others into the abyss,” Hariri cautioned.
“We totally understand the decision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia … and we hope that the leadership of the Kingdom will look at the suffering of Lebanon through the eyes of the elder brother,” he added.
Hariri also voiced confidence that Saudi Arabia “will not abandon the people of Lebanon, no matter how difficult the challenges and conditions become.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tammam Salam issued a statement considering the Saudi move a “sovereign Saudi affair.”
“Lebanon, whose identity is Arab, is highly keen on its fraternal ties with its Arab brothers, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Salam said.
He also called on Riyadh to “reconsider the decision on halting aid to our army and security forces.”
Later on Friday, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq warned that the Saudi decision is "the first move and what's coming will be harsher," calling on Salam to hold a cabinet session "dedicated to discussing Lebanon's foreign, Arab and Islamic policies."
In light of positions taken by Hizbullah, the kingdom has proceeded to "a total evaluation of its relations with the Lebanese republic," an unnamed official told the Saudi Press Agency earlier in the day.
Lebanon received the first tranche of weapons designed to bolster its army against jihadist threats, including anti-tank guided missiles, in April last year but the program then reportedly ran into obstacles.
Hizbullah is supported by Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran, with whom relations have worsened this year.
Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran last month after demonstrators stormed its embassy and a consulate following the Saudi execution of a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric and activist, Nimr al-Nimr.
The official quoted by the Saudi Press Agency said the kingdom had noticed "hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the stranglehold of Hizbullah on the State."
He also deplored the "political and media campaigns inspired by Hizbullah against Saudi Arabia," as well as what he called the group's "terrorist acts against Arab and Muslim nations."
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday accused Turkey and Saudi Arabia of dragging the entire region into war and said "victory" was imminent for his group and its Syrian regime allies.
Y.R.
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