'The Kuwaiti initiative has succeeded,' says the Kuwaiti ambassador from Ain al-Tineh

BEIRUT — The Kuwaiti ambassador to Lebanon, Abdel Aal al-Kinai, said Tuesday from Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s residency in Ain al-Tineh after meeting with him that the initiative launched by Kuwait last January to restore ties between Lebanon and some of the Gulf countries, which had deteriorated last October, “has succeeded.”

Here’s what we know:

    • “The Kuwaiti initiative has succeeded. My presence here is the greatest proof of that,” local television station MTV cited the ambassador as saying after meeting with Berri. According to MTV, the ambassador also said that “things are back on the right track between Lebanon and the Arab brothers,” adding, “Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, asked me to send a message to thank Kuwait and the minister of foreign affairs for the efforts made to end the crisis.”

    • The ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Walid Bukhari and Ibrahim al-Sahlaoui, were also received on Tuesday morning by Berri 10 days after they returned to Beirut. No information concerning the content of their discussions has filtered out so far.

    • Diplomatic ties between Lebanon and several Gulf countries were severed following the broadcast last October of comments made by Lebanon’s then-Information Minister George Kurdahi about the Saudi intervention in the Yemen conflict.

    • In January, Kuwait led a diplomatic mission to Beirut on behalf of the Gulf countries with the support of France. During a visit to Beirut, the Kuwaiti foreign minister presented the Lebanese authorities with an Arab roadmap to help Lebanon restore its ties with the Gulf countries. The roadmap includes requests for the disarmament of Hezbollah.

    • Eight days ago, Bukhari invited several political leaders in Lebanon that are close to Saudi Arabia and some ambassadors to an iftar in his residence in Yarze. Two days after this iftar, the diplomat spoke with President Michel Aoun and affirmed that Riyadh “wants to help the Lebanese people.” For his part, Aoun insisted on the “need to strengthen bilateral relations [between Lebanon and Gulf countries] and activate them at all levels.”