Report: UAE Summons Lebanese Ambassador after Aoun Defends Hizbullah
The United Arab Emirates' Foreign Ministry has reportedly summoned Lebanon's Ambassador to Abu Dhabi to protest statements made by President Michel Aoun about the need for Hizbullah's arms to back the Lebanese army, al-Akhbar daily reported on Tuesday.
UAE's foreign ministry “expressed utmost protest against the statement which Aoun has made during a visit to Egypt on February 13. He emphasized that Hizbullah's arms do not contradict with the State and are an essential component of the means to defend Lebanon,” added the daily.
Unnamed diplomatic sources told the daily that “official authorities in Abu Dhabi have stopped discussions with the Lebanese side that had been planning a visit for Aoun to the UAE.”
The report comes one day after a similar report alleged that Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz has canceled a planned trip to Lebanon over the same reasons.
After his election as president in November, ending more that two years of presidential vacuum, Aoun started a Gulf tour that began in Saudi Arabia on a mission to patch up ties after a tense year which saw Saudi Arabia freeze the aid deal over what it said was the dominance of Hizbullah.
Analysts say Saudi Arabia was hoping for a more stable Lebanon, after concerns over the role played by Hizbullah in the Lebanese government and the threat posed by jihadists and the war in neighboring Syria.
But later and during an official trip to Egypt, Aoun said in an interview on the Egyptian TV channel CBC, that "Hizbullah's arms do not contradict with the State and are an essential component of the means to defend Lebanon.”
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah escalated rhetoric in recent statements against the Gulf states blasting Saudi Arabia and the UAE over their military campaign in Yemen against Iran-backed rebels.
The statement raised a flurry of reactions mainly concerns that mended relations with Saudi Arabia could again witness a twist, reports said.
Source: Naharnet
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