Alwaght- Lebanese Information Minister George Kurdahi said he plans no resignation despite the heavy pressures from Riyadh and its supporters inside the country and “this stance has not changed,” sources close to him said on Thursday.
Kurdahi has been under pressure over the past 10 days after his stance on the Saudi war on Yemen was given publicity by media outlets.
He said that he made the comments before he was picked minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Months ago, in a question-and-answer session, Kurdahi was asked about his thought on the Saudi-led Yemeni war. He said that the war was illegitimate and that the Yemenis were defending their country.
The comments infuriated Saudi Arabia and stirred a diplomatic crisis. The Saudis called for his resignation, but he said his comments reflected his personal views not his country’s.
The crisis went compounded last week when Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE and Bahrain, expelled the Lebanese ambassadors and recalled their ambassadors to Beirut.
The Lebanese PM asked for calm and friendship and said that the Persian Gulf Arab monarchies should commit to helping Lebanon move out of the crisis.
Hezbollah said that the increasingly hostile Saudis were after an excuse and the comments cannot be a good reason to cut ties with Beirut.
Is it seriously because of Kurdahi’s comments?
The Saudi rulers have made the diplomatic reaction while comments on their crimes in Yemeni and their war that has so far killed and injured hundreds of thousands and displaced millions in Yemen are made on a daily basis by world media, analysts, and even government officials. Then what’s the problem?
Many agree that the Lebanese minister’s comments are just an excuse to press the Lebanese government. The Saudis are angry with formation of a new government in Lebanon because they pushed for Saad Hariri, their apparent minion, to become PM but this did not happen.
On the other hand, the new government has the backing of Hezbollah, a powerful actor in the Lebanese politics, and if it succeeds in getting the economy back in the track, the Saudis would find themselves in a difficult situation in terms of swaying Beirut policies in their favor.
The best option for the Saudis, thus, is to complicate the crisis in Lebanon and put more economic pressures on the largely strained economy, even with the final goal of toppling the new government and maintaining the economic problems unresolved for their demands, among them distancing Hezbollah from the government, to be implemented by Lebanese government.
