U.N. Calls for Continued Support for Lebanese Army after Saudi Aid Cut

The United Nations has called for continued support by the international community for the Lebanese army and security forces following a Saudi decision to cut off billions of dollars of aid.

“It is important that there be continued international support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and for the stability of Lebanon, as stated by the Security Council,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

“Saudi Arabia is free to do what it wants with its money, but we hope that others will step in and help fund and support the Lebanese Armed Forces to ensure the political stability in Lebanon,” he told reporters in his briefing on Thursday.

Dujarric said the U.N. has been “following very closely the current tensions that exist between Lebanon and a number of the Gulf countries.”

Riyadh announced Friday it was halting $4 billion in aid grants due to what it described as stances taken by Lebanese officials which "were not in harmony with the ties between the two countries."

This week, Saudi Arabia called on its citizens not to travel to Lebanon for safety reasons and ordered those staying there to leave. Its Gulf allies Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar predictably followed suit, issuing similar warnings. The United Arab Emirates also banned its citizens from traveling to Lebanon and withdrew a number of diplomats from the country.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag “always stress the importance of ensuring the political stability in Lebanon and also to shield Lebanon from the current regional tensions,” said Dujarric in response to a question.

“The U.N. support continues to reinforce Lebanon's stability at all levels, including for the Lebanese army, as called for by the Security Council, and the international community also continues to stress the need, obviously, to fill the presidential vacancy,” he said.

Dujarric added that Kaag has been holding regular meetings, not only with the Lebanese authorities, but with the diplomatic core in Lebanon to send a clear message that the region's countries should “ensure not to do anything that may destabilize Lebanon.”

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 and parliament has failed to elect a new head of state because of lack of a quorum.

G.K.

D.A.