Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called for “an internal understanding through a dialogue table to strengthen Lebanon’s relationships with the Arab states, especially the Gulf”.
In a report carried by the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), Mikati also highlighted the necessity “not to insult these countries or meddle in their domestic affairs”.
It comes following a rift in late October when then Lebanese Information Minister George Cordahi criticised Saudi involvement in the war in Yemen, prompting Riyadh to expel Lebanon’s top diplomats and recall their own envoys. The UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain followed. Oil-rich Gulf nations have been Lebanon’s main financial benefactors. Cordahi stepped down at the start of this month.
“A new decisive year is ahead, and we are on the threshold of parliamentary and presidential elections that will redraw the internal political scene,” Mikati told a news conference at the Grand Serail.
“We must derive lessons from the crises we had previously endured and we must return to implementing the constitution to restore order to the political life,” he stressed.
Mikati said he had embarked on a series of contacts to tackle the government gridlock and resume the cabinet sessions. “I have been waiting before convening the Council of Ministers so that there wouldn’t be any further complication,” he added. “The suspension of the cabinet meetings constitutes a structural defect in the government work which can neither be ignored nor overlooked.
“The constitution was put to avert any blockage, and the laws are the competent reference to resolve disputes.”
On the continuing Beirut port blast probe, Mikati said: “We understand the concerns and demands of a large segment of the Lebanese, and we call for solutions within the frame of the constitution and the laws.”
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