Hizbullah Reportedly Seeks Rapprochement with Saudi Arabia as Bassil Meets Asiri
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil held talks with Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri on Tuesday, a move seen as a rapprochement between the March 8 alliance and Riyadh.
An Nahar newspaper said Bassil, who is a leading member of the Free Patriotic Movement that is allied with Hizbullah, had requested to meet with Asiri.
The diplomat said after the talks that Riyadh stands at an equal distance from the Lebanese and hoped there wouldn't be any constitutional vacuum in the country.
Bassil also told reporters that his visit was the result of a mutual desire to have stability in Lebanon.
Bassil's visit was seen as a first step towards a willingness by the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition to revive contacts between the party and the Saudi capital which Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem had visited in the past.
Qassem and Mohammed Fneish, who is currently a caretaker minister, made a three-day visit to Jeddah in December 2006 for a meeting with King Abdullah and his foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
The visit was aimed at easing tension between the kingdom and Hizbullah, which at the time was leading an opposition campaign to bring down then Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government.
Abdullah's meeting with the two Hizbullah officials was the first such contact with the Iranian-backed group.
An Nahar did not rule out a similar visit by Qassem in the near future.
But Saudi embassy sources did not provide any details on the alleged rapprochement, telling the daily that Riyadh has always backed dialogue.
16 April 2013, 10:48
41
the thugs are begging to stay in power at any cost. I have my doubts they will be well received.
16 April 2013, 10:49
31
They believe in Santa! They secretly believe KSA is going to grant them a carte blanche to spread terror with blessing. They're mistaking KSA for Yemen.
16 April 2013, 15:46
31
I just love people who use big words they don't understand in order to sound important then instead sound impotent. Pray tell, what did imbecile sacrfice in his calculated chess move?
16 April 2013, 22:24
10
Imbassi sacrificed nothing.... He's a nobody, well he's a son-in-law, nothing else.
16 April 2013, 12:43
12
Glad you boys on punching each other verbally LOL on line rather than in real life. LOL Sidon93 and Mowaten. political comedy U 2
16 April 2013, 13:46
24
So why is it that if M14 are meeting them, its boot licking, and when M8 are meeting them, there are plenty of diplomatic reasons?
16 April 2013, 16:11
11
Well now, this is really funny. Bassil has become the waterboy for Hezbollah and they are running to the hated and dreaded "Wahabis"! For what, they are running short of money from Iran and need to tap a new Sugar Daddy?? Is that it?? All of their rhetoric is exposed by this as pure BS. They are with Hezbollah so as to make a solid front against creeping Wahabism, led by KSA in Lebanon through its agent Saad Hariri. This has been the reason for the Hezbollah alliance. Seems they need a new one now.
16 April 2013, 16:38
10
So when geagea goes to saudi arabia it is to get paid but when bassil goes there it is because he is bold and pragmatic. Since you are so adamant about everyone going to KSA to get paid why is it that this time it’s not the case? If KSA is always paying everyone off, why not the money ran dry from Iran and Syria and bassil needed a new funding source??? It is a silly accusation of course but it’s identical to the accusation you have made in the past. I just wanted to show you how silly your accusations can sometimes be. If I am wrong please do correct me. This is nothing more than a sign that the tide is turning and there is a clear shift in power.
16 April 2013, 19:44
22
it shows no pragmatism it shows they feel the tables are turning and are afraid for their ar...s...
funny how M8ers twist things to their benefit....
16 April 2013, 19:46
12
we ll soon see aoun go to saudi arabia and say the contrary to his present positions... happened once, so it will happen a second time!
17 April 2013, 00:37
00
You folks just don't get it. This is back door politics instigated by Iran. Iran cannot be seen to openly court Saudi Arabia but Iran needs help with Syria. Iran is running out of money and weapons it can send to Syria.
