Saudi Envoy Deletes Tweet on Jean Obeid, Says It was 'Misinterpreted'

Saudi chargé d'affaires in Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari took to Twitter on Monday to remind of remarks by late Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal about Lebanon's former foreign minister Jean Obeid.

“Lebanon's foreign minister Jean Obeid is the wise man of the Arab foreign ministers,” Bukhari quoted Faisal as saying.

The charge d'affaires deleted the tweet several hours later, saying it was “misinterpreted.”

Obeid has served at different cabinet posts the last of which was foreign minister of Lebanon from 2003 to 2004.

He was an adviser on Arab affairs to two former Lebanese presidents, Elias Sarkis and Amin Gemayel. Gemayel also appointed him as special envoy to Syria.

Obeid also served as a member of the parliament, representing Chouf from 1991 to 1992 and Tripoli from 1992 to 2005.

He ran for the presidency in 2008 and was considered to be a possible consensus candidate. Observers and media reports still consider him to be a potential compromise nominee.

Bukhari's tweet comes amid a flurry of speculation and media reports that followed ex-PM Saad Hariri's recent return to Lebanon.

Hariri is reportedly exploring the possibility of endorsing Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.