Lebanon's Energy Minister Walid Fayad (R), Syria's Electricity Minister Ghassan al-Zamil (2nd R) and Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Ali Hamed al-Kharabsheh (L) sit during the signing of a deal that will supply Lebanon with electricity, in Beirut on Jan. 26, 2022 (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — Energy Ministry Walid Fayad’s office released a statement Thursday clarifying comments he made about American Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea during the signing ceremony for an electricity deal with Jordan that took place on Wednesday.
Here’s what we know:
• On Wednesday, Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian officials signed documents consolidating a deal under which Jordan will supply electricity to Lebanon by way of Syria.
• A video circulating on social media Thursday shows Fayad talking to his Syrian counterpart during the ceremony, telling him that he calls the American ambassador his best friend because she can kill the deal. “I tell her she’s my best friend. She can kill this deal, I say this laughing but I want to cry,” he said.
• In a statement, Fayad said his comments “were misunderstood, unintentionally or on purpose.” Fayad also claimed that he was explaining to the Syrian minister that “he is a friend of the US ambassador and that she congratulated him in a text message for the signing [of the deal], and he has a relationship with her, and that the deal will need US funding and approval or else we will cry.”
• The Jordanian electricity deal is one of two energy agreements that are part of a US initiative to try to alleviate Lebanon’s electricity crisis. The other deal aims to import gas from Egypt through Jordan and Syria to fuel Lebanon’s power plants.