Saudi emissary Yazid Bin Farhan holds meetings with Sunni MPs during second day of Lebanese visit

BEIRUT — Saudi envoy Prince Yazid bin Farhan met on Friday with Sunni MPs who praised Saudi Arabia's efforts to reach a cease-fire in Lebanon, according to the state-run National News Agency.

As part of his visit to Lebanon, Bin Farhan held talks in Beirut on Thursday with President Joseph Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, hours before the extension of the cease-fire agreement between Lebanon and Israel for three weeks.

Despite this extension, Israeli air strikes hit south Lebanon on Friday, killing three people, and Hezbollah shot down an Israeli drone over Sour.

On Friday, the Saudi envoy first held a meeting, in the presence of KSA's Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari, with Beirut MP Fouad Makhzoumi, after which the latter praised the "important role" of Saudi Arabia "in supporting Lebanon’s stability and their efforts toward de-escalation and a cease-fire."

"We also value the Kingdom’s consistent affirmation of its support for Lebanese state sovereignty and the necessity of restricting arms to its legitimate institutions, as well as its mobilization of capabilities in the service of Lebanon’s security and stability," he added.

Yazid ben Farhan later visited Tripoli MP Faysal Karameh, who wrote on X: "We expressed our deep appreciation for the role played by KSA ... in supporting the path of stability in Lebanon, and for its tireless efforts to promote de-escalation and a cease-fire, contributing to strengthening the internal situation and sparing the country further crises."

The next stop on his tour brought him to his residence in Yarzeh to meet with MPs from the Sunni National Moderation bloc: Mohammad Suleiman, Ahmad al-Kheir, Abdel Aziz al-Samad, and Sajih Atiyeh, as well as the bloc's secretary-general, Hadi Hbeish.

Discussions focused on the general situation in Lebanon and the region, according to the National News Agency (NNA), citing a statement from the bloc.

According to the latter, the prince affirmed "the Kingdom's commitment to the internal stability of Lebanon, to respect for the formula of the Taif Agreement [which ended the 1975-1990 civil war], to support for the consensus between the three presidents [Joseph Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and of the Prime Minister Nawaf Salam] as well as to the need to avoid any drift towards speeches or behaviors likely to inflame internal divisions or to undermine civil peace, while stressing the importance of deploying all diplomatic efforts to save Lebanon and its people."

Lebanon, which has entered direct negotiations with Israel in Washington for the first time since 1983, is relying on Arab diplomatic backing in the process.

L’Orient Today learned that Aoun is working to organize visits to Saudi Arabia for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as to Qatar to meet Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, as part of a broader diplomatic push.