U.S. Concerned over Saudi Aid Cut, Says Lebanese Army Assistance 'Essential'

The United States has expressed concern over a Saudi announcement that it was cutting off $4 billion of aid to the Lebanese army and security forces, and stressed that assistance to the military is "essential" to limit Hizbullah's role.

“We’ve raised our concerns about the reports of aid cutoff with the Saudi authorities. I’m not going to talk about the details of that,” State Department Spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.

U.S. support to the Lebanese army “is important and it’s going to continue,” he said, adding that assistance to the military and “to other legitimate state institutions is essential to help diminish the role of Hizbullah and its foreign patrons.”

Kirby stressed that Washington doesn't want “to leave the field open to Hizbullah or its patrons. Our assistance to the Lebanese military makes a real difference on the ground against Daesh and other extremists.”

The military “deserves the support of the international community as well,” he told reporters.

Kirby's comment came after he was asked about a report in The Wall Street Journal that the Obama Administration is pressuring Saudi Arabia not to take further steps to punish Lebanon economically in retaliation for the growing political power of Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Last Wednesday, the Saudi-led bloc of six Gulf Arab nations formally branded Hizbullah a terrorist organization, ramping up the pressure on the party.

The move by the Gulf Cooperation Council comes less than two weeks after Saudi Arabia announced it was cutting $4 billion in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces.

The kingdom and other Gulf states followed up that move by urging their citizens to leave Lebanon.

U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner praised on Tuesday the GCC decision.

He said the U.S. will continue its consultation with Gulf countries to discuss imposing sanctions and other measures to face Hizbullah’s “terror acts” in the region.

G.K.

D.A.