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GULF CRISIS

Aoun expresses wishes to end Gulf rift in letter to Saudi king

Aoun expresses wishes to end Gulf rift in letter to Saudi king

King Salman of Saudi Arabia receives President Aoun in Riyadh in January 2017. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)

BEIRUT – Lebanese President Michel Aoun sent a letter to Saudi Arabian King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on Friday commemorating the anniversary of the Saudi kingdom’s founding, and expressing his wishes for the reestablishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Here’s what we know:

    • “Lebanon, appreciative of [Saudi Arabia] and its people’s constant support, looks forward to what would restore harmony to bilateral relations in the interest of both people,” Aoun said in his letter to the Saudi monarch.

    • During his address to a delegation of Arab justice ministers in Beirut, Aoun underlined “Lebanon’s willingness to cooperate with Arab states in everything that would help improve laws and regulations,” the presidency’s press office reported. “Beirut opens its doors to everyone, notably Arab brethren,” Aoun added.

    • Algerian Justice Minister Abderrachid Tebbi explained that the delegation was in Beirut to partake in a ceremony scheduled for Saturday at the Grand Serail, rewarding the best doctoral thesis in Law in the Arab world. Tebbi hoped that Lebanon could resolve its problems and restore its “shining image.”

    • Lebanon has been attempting to resolve a diplomatic crisis that has resulted in a severing of ties with Gulf states, intensified by former Information Minister George Kurdahi’s comments on the Saudi intervention in Yemen.

    • Kuwaiti head of diplomacy Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah had submitted a 12-point proposition, which included holding elections, establishing reforms and applying UN resolution 1559, during a visit in January. At the end of January, the Kuwaiti diplomat announced that Lebanon’s response to the propositions was being studied, but no response has yet been issued.

BEIRUT – Lebanese President Michel Aoun sent a letter to Saudi Arabian King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on Friday commemorating the anniversary of the Saudi kingdom’s founding, and expressing his wishes for the reestablishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.Here’s what we know:    • “Lebanon, appreciative of [Saudi Arabia] and its people’s constant support, looks...