Bassil Holds Talks with Qatari Counterpart in Doha
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil held talks Wednesday in Doha with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani.
“Talks tackled the bilateral ties between Lebanon and Qatar and the one-hour meeting also addressed the refugee crisis and the issue of combating terrorism,” Lebanon's National News Agency said.
The Qatari minister stressed his country's “appreciation of Lebanon and the Lebanese,” hoping relations “will return to normal” between the two countries and describing the current period as “transient.”
Bassil for his part highlighted “the friendly ties that gather Lebanon and Qatar” and Lebanon's keenness on “restoring the balance of relations” between the two countries.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.
Lebanon's ties with the Gulf countries have deteriorated in recent months as Hizbullah engaged in a political confrontation with Saudi Arabia against the backdrop of a Saudi-Iranian standoff in the region.
Bassil's stances at Arab and Muslim meetings were also part of the moves that angered Riyadh and pushed it to take a series of measures against Hizbullah and Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia's measures started on February 19 when it announced that it was halting around $4 billion in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces over “hostile” Lebanese diplomatic positions resulting from “Hizbullah's stranglehold on the State.”
The kingdom later slapped sanctions on individuals and firms accused of ties to Hizbullah and advised its citizens against travel to Lebanon while urging those already in the country to leave it.
Saudi Arabia also pushed the Gulf Cooperation Council to label Hizbullah as a “terrorist” organization over purported "terrorist acts and incitement in Syria, Yemen and in Iraq."
Y.R.
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