Saudi Arabia returns envoy to Lebanon: State media
Five months ago, Saudi Arabia had summoned its ambassador to Lebanon. Now it is sending its diplomatic delegation back.
Saudi Arabia declared on Thursday that it would send an ambassador to Lebanon for the first time since a dispute over a comment made by the former Lebanese Information Minister, George Kordahi, commenting on the Saudi-led war on Yemen five months ago.
According to state media, the foreign ministry "announces the return of the ambassador... to the sisterly Republic of Lebanon."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia published a statement on Twitter announcing the return of its ambassador to "the sisterly Republic of Lebanon."
وزارة خارجية المملكة العربية السعودية تعلن عن عودة سفير خادم الحرمين الشريفين إلى جمهورية لبنان الشقيقة pic.twitter.com/uq1fv8z6fB
— وزارة الخارجية 🇸🇦 (@KSAMOFA) April 7, 2022
Saudi Arabia had summoned its ambassador to Lebanon for consultations on October 29, 2021, while it requested the ambassador of Lebanon to leave the kingdom within 48 hours and decided to stop all Lebanese imports to the kingdom.
The Saudi decision came after statements published by the Lebanese Minister of Information, George Kordahi, in which he described the Yemen war as "Futile," adding that the "Yemeni Ansar Allah movement has been defending itself in the face of external aggression against Yemen for years." The statement provoked international and local reactions.
It is worth noting that Lebanon's Information Minister, George Kordahi, had submitted his resignation on December third, 2021. He stated during the press conference in which he announced his resignation: "I do not wish to be a cause of harm to Lebanon and my fellow Lebanese [residing] in Gulf states because Lebanon is more important than I am".