BEIRUT – Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati rejected the offensive remarks of Minister of Information George Kordahi, saying categorically that it does not represent the government’s position at all, according to the official Lebanese National News Agency.
“With regard to the words of Minister of Information George Kordahi, which is being circulated, and which is part of an interview I conducted with him several weeks before assuming his ministerial position, it is rejected and does not express the government’s position at all, especially with regard to the issue of Yemen and Lebanon’s relations with its Arab brothers, specifically the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council.”
“The Prime Minister and the government are keen to weave the best relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and they condemn any interference in its internal affairs from any party. The Prime Minister announces Lebanon’s adherence to the brotherly ties with the Arab countries, which are clearly defined in the ministerial statement of the government whose name is spoken and expresses its policy and constants, the prime minister and the government as a whole,” Mikati added.
Meanwhile Kordahi said that he did not intend in any way to offend Saudi Arabia and the UAE, saying that “their leadership and people have all the love and loyalty,” according to a statement published by the National News Agency.
In a related development, Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Bin Mubarak directed the Yemeni ambassador to Beirut to deliver a letter of condemnation regarding Kordahi’s statements to the Lebanese Foreign Ministry.
Bin Mubarak said that these statements are a departure from the clear Lebanese position towards Yemen and its condemnation of the Houthi coup as well as its support for all relevant Arab and UN resolutions.
Kuwait deplores Kordahi’s statements KUWAIT CITY – The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry on Wednesday voiced vehement condemnation and disapproval of the Lebanese information minister’s remarks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry has summoned the Lebanese Charge D’Affires in Kuwait Hadi Hashem and handed him an official memo of protest including Kuwait’s utter disapproval of these comments, saying that these have nothing to do whatsoever with the reality and contradict the simplest rules of dealings between countries.
“In his comments, the Lebanese minister pressed baseless accusations against both sisterly countries, which ignore their great and much-appreciated role in supporting Yemen and its people and even contradict the authentic reality of the current situation in Yemen,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The minister’s statements also run counter to the Lebanese government’s official position and underestimate the crucial role of Saudi Arabia and the UAE as well as the Arab Coalition to support Yemen’s legitimacy, it added.
