US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Sunday at the G20 summit in Rome with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. (Credit: Antony Blinken/Twitter)
BEIRUT — The US secretary of state tweeted Sunday that he spoke with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, about the growing diplomatic spat between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
Here’s what we know:
• “Spoke today with Saudi Foreign Minister @FaisalbinFarhan [Prince Faisal bin Farhan] about the situation in Lebanon,” Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter Sunday evening during the G20 summit in Rome.
• Prince Faisal earlier today told CNBC that his country believes engagement with Lebanon was not productive, adding that his country’s concerns with Lebanon go beyond the recent comments by Information Minister George Kurdahi.
• Saudi Arabia on Friday announced that it was recalling its ambassador from Beirut and cutting off imports from Lebanon after Kurdahi’s statements on the war in Yemen.
• Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE followed in Saudi Arabia’s footsteps, calling back its envoys from Lebanon while asking Lebanese ambassadors to leave their countries.
• A US diplomat joined a meeting Saturday of a crisis cell of Lebanese ministers tackling the diplomatic row. A diplomatic source, meanwhile, told Reuters that "US and European nations were in contact with Lebanese officials to prevent the government from falling."
• Kurdahi on Sunday said that his resignation from the Lebanese cabinet was “out of the question.”