Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov has said that a Lebanese Foreign Ministry statement condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “does not take into consideration the cordial and historic bilateral relations between the two countries.”

President Michel Aoun has said that Lebanon’s “clear stance” is in favor of resolving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict through “dialogue,” following the latest controversy over a Lebanese Foreign Ministry statement that condemned over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“Lebanon has faced difficult disputes, confrontations and security incidents that all ended through dialogue,” Aoun added, in an interview with the Asas Media news website.

Thousands of young Arabs who took up studies in Ukraine, often fleeing violence back home, are appealing to be rescued from a new nightmare -- Russia's full scale invasion of the country.

More than 10,000 Arab students attend university in Ukraine, drawn to the former Soviet republic by a low cost of living and, for many, the lure of relative safety compared with their own troubled homelands.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Saturday suggested that the Lebanese should elect their president in a popular vote as part of ideas that he proposed to reform the political system.

“It is permissible for us here to seriously think of electing the president of the republic directly by the people in two electoral rounds, in order to preserve the post’s special status, symbolism and its representation of all Lebanese,” Bassil said at a FPM seminar on civil state.

The Cabinet on Friday approved “in principle” the electricity plan devised by Energy Minister Walid Fayyad.

Lebanon has wheat reserves sufficient for one month at the most, with Ukraine accounting for up to 60 percent of the crisis-hit country's wheat market, the economy minister said on Friday.

Concerns about wheat reflect the rippling effect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Lebanese government is in talks with other countries like the United States, India and Canada to provide wheat amid concerns of global disruption to wheat supply during the crisis, the Minister, Amin Salam, said.

The Russian Embassy in Lebanon on Friday voiced astonishment over a Lebanese Foreign Ministry statement that condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The statement has astonished us for its violation of the dissociation policy (officially adopted by Lebanon) and for siding with one party against another in these events, knowing that Russia has spared no effort to contribute to the rise and stability of the Lebanese Republic,” the Embassy said in a communique.

The ambassadors of France and Germany to Lebanon on Friday met with Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and thanked Lebanon for the statement it has issued on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the National News Agency said.

The two envoys hoped Lebanon will “maintain this stance” and requested “Lebanon’s participation in the adoption of the resolution submitted before the (U.N.) Security Council regarding the crisis,” NNA added.

A Lebanese Foreign Ministry statement condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stirred political controversy in Lebanon.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and called on Moscow to “immediately halt military operations.”

“In light of the military invasions that Lebanon’s modern history witnessed, which inflicted heavy losses on it and its people… Lebanon condemns the invasion of Ukrainian territory and calls on Russia to immediately halt military operations,” the Ministry said in a statement.