What's behind Jumblat's unusual attack on KSA?
Ex-MP Walid Jumblat’s latest unusual attack on Saudi Arabia came because he knew months ago that its ambassador in Beirut, Walid Bukhari, was behind the stances and “escalation” of some political forces, informed sources said.
Jumbat knew that Bukhari “had been asking the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party to escalate against any initiative, as happened with the calls for dialogue that were made by (French envoy Jean-Yves) Le Drian and Speaker (Nabih) Berri,” the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Friday.
“Jumblat and other political forces knew that the French initiative has been torpedoed and that Paris is unable to convince the rest of the five-nation group’s members that it should continue its role,” the sources added.
“Le Drian’s return next month will be ceremonial and will be followed by pressure for elections based on the latest Doha statement, which means that the country will witness a new wave of escalation,” the sources went on to say.
In an interview published Wednesday in French-language daily L'Orient-Le Jour, Jumblat called on Saudi Arabia to "explain what it wants."
"Things have reached a blatant and unacceptable level," he lamented. "This would fuel the ridiculous theories of those who want vacuum," he added, accusing Riyadh and other members of the five-nation group on Lebanon of "sabotaging" and "marginalizing" Le Drian's mission.
