U.S. Diplomat Warns Lebanon Reaching Edge of Abyss

An American diplomat has said that Lebanon's situation is “fragile,” warning it is halfway into reaching the edge of the abyss, As Safir daily reported on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, a Lebanese official quoted the diplomat as saying that the situation in Lebanon is “fragile politically and security wise.”

“We would not be exaggerating if we say that your country is not at the edge of the abyss but it has reached midway into falling in it,” he said.

But the diplomat stressed that Washington will not let go of Lebanon.

“We will not let it fall,” he told the Lebanese official.

The diplomat also warned that the deteriorating security situation could not just “destroy Lebanon but also lead to its disappearance.”

Lebanon has been on edge since Friday over a dispute between the Hizbullah camp and Riyadh's backers as a result of a decision announced by Saudi Arabia to cut $4 billion in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces in retaliation for Lebanon siding with Iran in the Sunni kingdom's proxy wars with the Shiite power.

The Saudi decision came after Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement that is allied with Hizbullah, declined to support Saudi resolutions against Iran during two recent meetings of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers.

This week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar urged their citizens already in Lebanon to leave and issued a travel warning for nationals planning to visit the country.

G.K.

D.A.