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Abdallah Bou says Lebanon will ensure that the country is not used as a “start-up” to violate the interests of Arab countries.
Lebanon will not “hand over” Hezbollah weapons, the country’s foreign minister said ahead of a meeting to resolve relations with members of the Arab Gulf.
Saudi Arabia and its allies suspended diplomatic relations with Lebanon after comments were made by then-Information Minister George Kordahi criticizing Yemen’s Riyadh-led military intervention. Hezbollah ally Kordahi resigned in December.
“I’m not (to Kuwait) delivering the weapons of Hezbollah. I will not end the existence of Hezbollah, there is no debate in Lebanon. We are looking for dialogue, ”said Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, referring to a meeting aimed at resolving ties between Al Jazeera, Beirut and the Arab states of the Gulf.
Referring to Gulf concerns, Lebanon says the country will not be “the starting point for activities that violate Arab countries,” according to sources familiar with the government’s draft letter responding to Gulf conditions to improve relations on the Gulf, Reuters reported.
Lebanon is due to meet at a meeting in Kuwait on Saturday to respond to the tense conditions, as Hezbollah’s armed group, Iran’s close ally, has grown stronger in Beirut and the region.
Hezbollah helps Iran fight for regional influence with US allies in the Gulf, allied with Houthis aligned with Iran in Yemen.
The Yemeni war, aimed at restoring President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s internationally recognized government, has led to what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Founded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in 1982, Hezbollah has a strong militia. Hezbollah fighters have sided with pro-Iranian allies in the region, including Syria.
The group and its allies also have a strong foothold in Lebanese state policy.
Dissociation
The conditions imposed on Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah on Beirut on 22 January set a deadline for the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1559 adopted in 2004 and disarmament. State militias in Lebanon.
A draft government response seen by Reuters dismisses the issue, saying Lebanon is respectful of UN resolutions “to ensure civil peace and national stability.”
But it does not mention any specific UN resolutions or steps to implement them.
Bou Habib said he would “need time” to implement Al Jazeera’s 1559 resolution, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah.
The rupture in the Gulf has added to Lebanon’s difficulties as it faces the financial crisis that the World Bank has described as one of the worst depressions ever recorded.
The crisis In the face of Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in the region, including Lebanon, there is unrest in Saudi Arabia, which once received financial support from a traditional Saudi ally and an oil-rich kingdom.
In early January, Hassan Nasrallah led the Shiite Hezbollah movement. he put up a verbal attack against the kingdom, accusing Riyadh of spreading “extreme Islamic ideology”.
The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister’s visit to Beirut last week was the first since the break-up. He said that Lebanon had no platform for action or hostile words against the Arab states in the Gulf, and that the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were sympathetic to the Lebanese people.
In a draft letter seen by Reuters, Lebanon is “orally and genuinely” committed to a policy of secession from the conflict in the region – a policy adopted by successive governments, despite Hezbollah’s deployment of fighters to Syria.
Lebanon is also committed to strengthening measures in cooperation with other Arab states to prevent drug smuggling into the Arab states of the Gulf.
Opponents of Hezbollah have accused him of links to the region’s drug trade, something he denies. The GCC called on Lebanon in December to tighten border controls and take measures to prevent drug smuggling through exports to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
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