Arab League seeks to ease Saudi-Lebanon diplomatic rift

Lebanon and Saudi Arabia seek to resolve an unprecedented diplomatic rift that emerged following comments by Lebanon's information minister on Yemen's civil war.

The attempt to reconcile bilateral relations came with a top Arab League envoy's visit to Beirut on Monday, as “an initiative to put the crisis on the right track.”

Hossam Zaki, the league’s deputy chief, who is in Beirut holding meetings about the rift, has so far met President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdalla Bou Habib.

Zaki told reporters after meeting Lebanese President Michel Aoun that he was ready to visit Saudi Arabia but that some tangible moves to ease the crisis have to be felt first.

“The interests of Lebanon and Gulf nations are our goal,” Zaki said, and openly asked what Lebanese authorities “plan to do to end this crisis.”

Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office quoted the prime minister as saying that Lebanon wants normal relations to be restored with Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab nations, adding that the Arab League can play a role in that.

Mikati also said Lebanon will remove all obstacles to restore the relations, according to his office.

Mikati has urged Kordahi to “do what needs to be done” — an apparent appeal for him to step down but the minister has so far refused to apologise or resign.

READ MORE: Lebanese leaders agree on 'roadmap' to end row with Saudis

An unprecedented rift

The crisis began when Lebanon's Information Minister George Kordahi's criticisms about the war in Yemen that a Saudi-led coalition is waging against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels surfaced.

Kordahi, who was named to the government by a party allied to the militant Hezbollah group, has insisted Yemen’s Houthis have the right to defend themselves and said he did not mean to offend with his comments, which were recorded before he became minister.

Lebanon has said that Kordahi’s remarks about Yemen, aired in late October, do not represent official government views.

The spat has threatened to destabilise Mikati's government, formed in September after a 13-month deadlock between rival Lebanese groups.

Saudi Arabia has withdrawn its ambassador from Beirut and asked the Lebanese envoy to leave the kingdom.

It has also banned Lebanese imports, undermining the small nation’s foreign trade and depriving it of millions of dollars even as it struggles amid an economic meltdown.

Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have also pulled their ambassadors from Lebanon, deepening the spat.

READ MORE: What’s behind the Saudi-Lebanon diplomatic rift?