Zakharova: Russia hopes for resolution of disagreement between Lebanon and GCC over Yemen

03 November 2021


Russia counts on the early overcoming of the aggravation of relations between Lebanon and a number of Arab states in the Persian Gulf without prejudice to the situation in the region and for Arab solidarity, Maria Zakharova, director of the Russian foreign ministry's Information and press department, said at a briefing on Wednesday.


"As for the diplomatic aggravation, which was caused by the reaction of a group of countries from among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to the statements of Lebanese information minister George Kurdahi about the actions of the Arab coalition in Yemen, we certainly expect to overcome it as soon as possible," she said. - "For the sake of objectivity, it should be made clear that he was already expressing his views on this issue as a private citizen before his appointment to the ministry. We hope that the parties will be able to resolve the conflict without prejudice to interstate relations and Arab solidarity".


The official representative of the diplomatic mission specified that "no one applied to the Russian side with a request for mediation in resolving this situation".


"Russia is firmly committed to the sovereignty of friendly Lebanon," Zakharova stressed. - "We support the activities of prime minister Najib Mikati's recently formed government in Lebanon, which is aimed at overcoming economic and social crises and solving other issues on the national agenda. We are also interested in maintaining stability in this uniquely multi-ethnic and multi-religious country and have always called and will continue to call on Lebanese politicians to be mutually respectful, conciliatory and, of course, sensitive to the interests of all groups".


Background


On August 5, on a program on Qatar's Al Jazeera TV channel (before his appointment as minister), Kurdahi spoke in defense of the Houthi rebels against what he described as "unjust and inhumane aggression by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates." These remarks were cited again the other day by a number of regional media outlets, causing a diplomatic scandal.


Riyadh called Kurdahi's remarks "slanderous and distortive of the kingdom's position in support of the legitimate Yemeni government." On October 29, Saudi and then Bahraini authorities declared the Lebanese ambassadors in Riyadh and Manama persona non grata and gave them 48 hours to return home. Kuwait subsequently recalled the head of its diplomatic mission in Beirut and asked the Chargé d'affaires ad interim of Lebanon to leave the country. The UAE also ordered its diplomats to leave Beirut and advised their citizens not to travel to Lebanon.


Lebanese foreign affairs and migration minister Abdallah Bou Habib advocated resolving the crisis with the Gulf Cooperation Council through dialogue. Meanwhile, Kurdahi said on October 31 that he did not intend to apologize or resign over his remarks.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Creative Commons

Based on materials from TASS