Tim Korso
SputnikTue, 18 May 2021 17:29 UTC
© AFP 2021 / GIUSEPPE CACACE
In his recent televised interview, Lebanese FM Charbel Wehbe seemingly criticised the Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, for being partially responsible for the rise of Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
The UAE's Foreign Ministry has summoned the Lebanese ambassador to present its official objection to comments made by Lebanon's FM Charbel Wehbe. Dubai says his remarks are "inconsistent with diplomatic norms".
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs [...] has strongly decried the derogatory and racist statements made by caretaker Lebanese Foreign Minister, Charbel Wehbe, against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] states", UAE state news agency (WAM) reported.
Saudi Arabia has also denounced Wehbe's remarks and summoned the Lebanese ambassador to hand over an official complaint.
Wehbe said that "countries of love, friendship, and fraternity," which he refused to name, "planted" Daesh in Syria and Iraq. While he didn't directly accuse the Gulf nations of fostering the rise of the terrorist organisation, he strongly suggested that they "funded" the Islamist movement.
Comment: Al Arabiya
reports:
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation "of the disgraceful insults that [his] statements contained towards the Kingdom, its people and the brotherly Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries," SPA reported.
The Kingdom's foreign ministry reaffirmed that these statements are inconsistent with diplomatic norms and are inconsistent with the historical relations between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
"Given the repercussions that these disgraceful statements may have on the relations between the two brotherly countries, the Ministry summoned the Ambassador of the Lebanese Republic to the Kingdom to express the Kingdom's rejection and denunciation of the abuses issued by the Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he was handed an official memorandum of protest in this regard," the statement on SPA concluded.
Lebanon's president said on Tuesday the foreign minister's critical comments about Gulf states did not reflect official policy, seeking to avoid a further strain on ties with countries that have been Lebanon's allies and donors.
The evidence is irrefutable, were it not for the US & Israel, in league with its Gulf allies, these terrorist organizations would barely exist:
Comment: Al Arabiya reports: The evidence is irrefutable, were it not for the US & Israel, in league with its Gulf allies, these terrorist organizations would barely exist: