Bou Saab: Aoun's Position Not Meant for Escalation
Presidential Adviser for International Cooperation Elias Bou Saab clarified on Thursday that President Michel Aoun's accusations that Saudi Arabia is holding Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri in “detention,” were not intended to escalate rhetoric with the kingdom.
“Positions made by President Aoun were not launched with the aim of escalation but were merely a cry for help. Aoun has asked SA for clarification (as for Hariri's fate) in order to know how to manage the crisis but he received no response,” said Bou Saab in an interview with radio VDL (100.5) Thursday.
He pointed out that the current government “can not be made a caretaker government without a prime minister to run the work,” adding that Aoun's remarks preserve Lebanese dignity.
“The President has always reiterated the need to maintain unparalleled ties with SA,” said Bou Saab, stressing “there is great keenness to restore the means of dialogue and communication.”
Bou Saab noted that the “first foreign visit made by Aoun as president was to Saudi Arabia,” adding “the solution comes through dialogue and brotherhood. Relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia did not reach the point of no return.”
Pointing to a ”confusing” situation with regard to Hariri's presence in SA, he said: “If it was normal Western countries, including France, would not have intervened to find a solution to this crisis.”
However, Bou Saab denied any intention to break relations with Saudi Arabia or any freeze of Lebanon's membership in the Arab League. “we have only heard these measures from the media," he said.
Aoun on Wednesday accused Saudi Arabia of having "detained" Hariri, who announced his resignation in a statement from the kingdom earlier this month.
"Nothing justifies the failure of Prime Minister Saad Hariri to return for 12 days, therefore we consider him to be held and detained, contrary to the Vienna Convention," Aoun had said.
Speculation has swirled about the circumstances of Hariri's resignation since his surprise announcement on November 4 in a statement read on Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya television channel.
There have been rumors that the prime minister, who is a Saudi citizen and grew up in the kingdom, had been detained along with dozens of Saudis in what Riyadh says is an anti-corruption campaign.
Aoun has yet to officially accept Hariri's resignation, and has said he will not do so before meeting the premier in person in Lebanon.
President Emmanuel Macron had "invited" Hariri and his family to France in the coming days," a French Presidency statement said Wednesday.
The statement said the invitation came after Macron spoke by telephone to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Hariri.
Source: Naharnet
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