Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea (L) receives Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari in Mearab, March 25, 2023. (Credit: Lebanese Forces website)
BEIRUT — "Saudi Arabia's position towards Lebanon is fixed and will not change," Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Boukhari, said Saturday, from the headquarters of Riyadh's ally the Lebanese Forces, in Mearab, the state-run National News Agency reported.
While several observers have suggested that the rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran could result in a Saudi softening on the local scene, especially regarding the presidential election, Bukhari brushed aside such assumptions Saturday.
The diplomat said the protection of Lebanese identity is a "matter of pan-Arab national security and regional and international peace."
Riyadh and Tehran severed diplomatic relations in 2016 after Saudi Arabia executed a Shiite cleric and protesters in Iran attacked Saudi diplomatic missions there.
In a Chinese-brokered agreement the two capitals announced March 10 that they agreed to restore relations and reopen their respective embassies. Many expect this agreement to have a positive impact on the Middle East, where Iran and Saudi Arabia vie for influence.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah and its allies interpreted it as a positive development, likely to lift the Saudi veto on their presidential candidate Sleiman Frangieh, ahypothesis that Riyadh seems to rule out. The country has not had a head of state since Michel Aoun's mandate ended five months ago.
"Lebanon is a founding country of the Arab League," Bukhari said Saturday after a meeting of about two hours with Samir Geagea. "The protection of its people and the rescue of its identity are a matter of pan-Arab national security and regional and international peace."
During the meeting, the two men "mainly discussed the presidential file without going into names," insisting on "the need to hold this deadline and elect a sovereign and reformist president who is not part of the ranks."
"[Saudi] Arabia's position towards Lebanon is fixed and will not change. The Iranian-Saudi agreement will have a positive impact on Lebanon," added the diplomat, who also clarified that Saudi Arabia's role in the Paris meeting was "in the interest of Lebanon and its sovereignty."
During a meeting in Parisl ast February, American, French, Saudi, Qatari and Egyptian diplomats had formulated, a roadmap for a way out of the crisis in Lebanon, calling for the election of a consensual president who does not represent a challenge for any of the parties.
The presidential election
In the context of the crisis in Lebanon, Bukhari warned that the presidential election has not yet taken place, noting that the "hand of Riyadh remains extended for cooperation and dialogue with the countries of the region and the world to preserve the security and stability of the region."
"The efforts made by [Saudi] Arabia are aimed at ensuring an international safety net to face the challenges and dangers, in order to preserve the living together and the message of Lebanon in its Arab and international environment," he added.
Lebanon's MPs have failed in 11 parliamentary sessions held since Sept. to elect a successor to Michel Aoun.
So far, the MP for Zgharta Michel Moawad, supported by Saudi Arabia and the opposition, has received the most votes. The Amal Movement and Hezbollah recently announced their official backing of the Christian leader Sleiman Frangieh for the presidency.
The Christian deputies remain divided over the choice of a candidate. The head of the Maronite Church, Bechara Rai, invited the 64 Christian elected representatives to a day of prayer on April 5, which many observers see as an attempt to unite the Christian camp, particularly with regard to the presidential election.
In a homily delivered Saturday on the occasion of the Feast of the Annunciation, Archbishop Rai said he will pray with members of parliament during this day, "for the salvation of Lebanon from its political crisis and its financial, economic and social suffering."
He also urged the ruling class to "assume its responsibility in the sabotage of the state and the presidency because of their inability to elect a head of state and their blocking of the work of constitutional institutions."