Arab League weighs in, bilateral relations with Russia, committee to make decision on port silos’ future: Everything you need to know to start your Monday

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The Arab League “supports the Kuwaiti initiative,” deputy secretary-general of the organization Houssam Zaki said yesterday, and is “ready to supervise” Lebanon’s upcoming elections. The remarks came a day after Prime Minister Najib Mikati received Arab League Secretary-General Ahmad Aboul Gheit, and two days after President Michel Aoun sent a letter to the Saudi monarch commemorating the kingdom’s founding and expressing wishes for diplomatic ties to be restored. The Kuwaiti initiative, a list of 12 conditions the Gulf governments want Beirut to fulfill in exchange for returning to normal diplomatic relations, was transmitted to Beirut in January. At the end of January, Kuwait announced that Lebanon’s response to the proposal was “under consideration,” but there have been no publicly announced developments since then. Zaki said the League has entered into discussions with the Kuwaiti and Lebanese sides to try to overcome the remaining points of disagreement.

Lebanon’s official position condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine will “not greatly influence” bilateral relations between the two countries, Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon said yesterday. But, the ambassador added, the Lebanese position “does not take into account the friendly bilateral relations between” Lebanon and Russia. On Thursday, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry “condemned the invasion of Ukrainian lands and called on Russia to stop its military operations immediately,” according to its statement at the time. In its initial response, the Russian Embassy said that the statement violated Lebanon’s policy of distancing itself from foreign conflicts. The Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon will hold a press conference today at 11 a.m.

The World Bank announced two new grants on Friday aimed at facilitating the return of vulnerable people to neighborhoods damaged by the port explosion. The first grant, for $12.75 million, will go towards repairing buildings in the damaged areas. The second grant of $7.8 million will provide social services to vulnerable people impacted by the explosion. Since the Beirut port explosion over a year ago, the World Bank and other international bodies have pledged large amounts of aid funding, but, as L’Orient Today has reported, only “a fraction” of the money “has been spent on the ground.”

Decisions related to the future of the heavily damaged Beirut port silos will be made by a committee, Economy Minister Amin Salam said on Friday. The committee will include representatives of the Justice, Defense, Public Works, Environment and Economy Ministries, he said, and appeared to soften his position on the demolition of the unusable silos, according to local media. He previously appeared in favor of demolition but now says he would like a judge to weigh in. The development follows demonstrations by families of the victims of the port blast and an online petition opposing the state’s apparent eagerness to tear down the silos as a desire to erase the tragedy from the collective memory.

In case you missed it, here’s our must-read article from the weekend: “Cracks start to appear in the banking lobby”