The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — The Free Patriotic Movement has “welcomed” the conclusions of the Jeddah summit, which on Saturday brought together US President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, as well as several representatives of Arab countries. During the summit, those gathered reaffirmed their support for the “sovereignty, security and stability of Lebanon.”
Here’s what we know:
• The FPM released a statement on Sunday stating that the support expressed at the summit for “the sovereignty, security and stability of Lebanon” is in line with the party’s calls for the return of Syrian refugees to their country and “Lebanon’s right to extract its hydrocarbon.”
• The FPM blames refugees for burdening Lebanon, and has previously stated that they “threaten” the country.
• Gebran Bassil, the head of the FPM, has also called on Israel to remove a production, storage and offloading vessel deployed in the disputed Karish offshore gas field to avoid a “dangerous escalation” with Lebanon.
• At the end of the Jeddah summit, Washington and Riyadh highlighted the importance of Hezbollah handing its weapons over to the Lebanese state as well as “the importance of forming a government and putting in place structural and comprehensive reforms so that Lebanon overcomes its crisis and does not constitute a starting point for terrorists, drug trafficking, as well as other criminal activities that threaten the stability and security of the region.”
• Lebanon’s cabinet assumed caretaker status following legislative elections on May 15. Although Najib Mikati has been designated to form a new government, he has thus far not been successful in the task.