Report: UAE Summons Lebanese Ambassador after Aoun Defends Hizbullah
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The United Arab Emirates' Foreign Ministry has reportedly summoned Lebanon's Ambassador to Abu Dhabi to protest statements made by President Michel Aoun about the need for Hizbullah's arms to back the Lebanese army, al-Akhbar daily reported on Tuesday.
UAE's foreign ministry “expressed utmost protest against the statement which Aoun has made during a visit to Egypt on February 13. He emphasized that Hizbullah's arms do not contradict with the State and are an essential component of the means to defend Lebanon,” added the daily.
Unnamed diplomatic sources told the daily that “official authorities in Abu Dhabi have stopped discussions with the Lebanese side that had been planning a visit for Aoun to the UAE.”
The report comes one day after a similar report alleged that Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz has canceled a planned trip to Lebanon over the same reasons.
After his election as president in November, ending more that two years of presidential vacuum, Aoun started a Gulf tour that began in Saudi Arabia on a mission to patch up ties after a tense year which saw Saudi Arabia freeze the aid deal over what it said was the dominance of Hizbullah.
Analysts say Saudi Arabia was hoping for a more stable Lebanon, after concerns over the role played by Hizbullah in the Lebanese government and the threat posed by jihadists and the war in neighboring Syria.
But later and during an official trip to Egypt, Aoun said in an interview on the Egyptian TV channel CBC, that "Hizbullah's arms do not contradict with the State and are an essential component of the means to defend Lebanon.”
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah escalated rhetoric in recent statements against the Gulf states blasting Saudi Arabia and the UAE over their military campaign in Yemen against Iran-backed rebels.
The statement raised a flurry of reactions mainly concerns that mended relations with Saudi Arabia could again witness a twist, reports said.
07 March 2017, 10:19
26
were those two dead shia iranian terrorists in your avatar paid by Iran?
07 March 2017, 10:20
25
Alakhbar wins another Pulitzer Prize for creative writing and imagination.
07 March 2017, 14:38
62
What do they expect President Aoun should say? The President is the leader of all Lebanese, not the stooge to the bedouins! We want a strong and free state, Hezbollah will eventually merge with the LAF but it will not happen under foreign threats, only through internal respect and solidarity.
The British declared the Hakanah (current IDF) and Irgun Gang (current Mossad) as terrorists in the 1940s, now they dictate to the British!
07 March 2017, 14:42
35
lol yeah through what again? i see .... 'internal respect and solidarity'...:)
07 March 2017, 15:01
51
Badawi.Wahabi, ofcourse you cannot live without the Oiled Gulf mens money.
07 March 2017, 14:46
52
The most important thing is the state of Lebanon and all her citizens in all her lands! This also includes those in the SLA. Because there are others that sided with syria and Israel, wrongly against their brethren but were forgiven. All Lebanese have and some still put foreign and personal fiefdoms/sects before the greater good of all Lebanese... from now on this is no longer forgivable! Lebanon for only the Lebanese and all Lebanese!
07 March 2017, 15:04
52
Yes, for once in a long time we have a President we can all be proud to have.
07 March 2017, 14:55
01
About to? How soon you'd say? An hour, a day, a week, a month, a year.. a decade or decades
07 March 2017, 15:03
41
We can see many people here that likes to be greased by the Gulf Oiled creatures.
They cannot stand the sight of watching an independent President fighting for a stronger Lebanon.
07 March 2017, 15:37
42
Yes, for the 1st time in decades, we have a strong president that is supported by most Christians and Lebanese! Even those Christians that don't support him are at least happy that there is a real President with proper community suppport. All Lebanese can be assured that finally we have a President that will put the whole nation 1st, not just his masters. I hope that the PM Hariri will be a good partner. The Lebanon, after all the troubles and destruction from Israel and occupation and theft from Syria, still has a larger GDP then Jordan with 2m less population and without the 25% of population as refugees! GDP per capita of $10,000/lebanese person! This is impressive considering we have no effective government for over a decade, while being occupied and at war for more then 40 years! What would happen if we were free, like during the 60s? We would be stronger then the oil rich Bedouin nations! Forget about the oil and gas reserves of the med sea... It wouldn't be fair!
07 March 2017, 16:35
41
moderated by Hezbollah, is that the reason they delete Flamethrowers comments all the time?
08 March 2017, 06:43
10
I await the day when I will read ONE meaningful post, ONE counter argument, ONE credible or mature info from you, flamethrower............................................................. , but alas!
08 March 2017, 05:31
01
so the traitor who once said he was part of the iranian-hezbollah axis of evil is 'independent' according to the shia heretic.
