Saudi Arabia's foreign minister: Elections 'may be a positive step, but it’s too early to tell'

BEIRUT — Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Tuesday that Lebanon’s 2022 elections results “may be a positive step, but it’s too early to tell,” after he was asked if Riyadh was pleased that Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies lost their parliamentary majority, Reuters reported.

Here’s what we know:

    • The Prince said it would depend on whether there would be political reform “that re-imposes the authority of the state,” he said, according to Reuters.

    • Also responding to a question on Lebanon, the Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan said from the World Economic Forum that “when we see a serious government that is going to take care of the people of Lebanon, we will act. We have been historically and there is no reason why we wouldn’t come to support.”

    • Diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia deteriorated after former Information Minister George Kordahi made statements about the Saudi-led intervention in the war on Yemen before resigning on Dec. 4, 2021.

    • Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari, who had been recalled almost half a year ago, returned to Beirut last month. Since his return to Lebanon, Bukhari has held numerous meetings with local politicians and religious notables, reigniting Saudi diplomatic engagement in the country.