\nBEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has affirmed his government\u2019s commitment to honoring its undertakings for reform.<\/p>\n
\nMikati said that his joint phone call on Saturday with Saudi and French leaders was \u201can important step toward restoring historic brotherly relations with Riyadh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nA joint Saudi-French statement, following the joint phone call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Macron with Mikati, linked \u201ceconomic aid to Lebanon with the implementation of the required reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe statement reiterated demands that Lebanon should \u201cimplement comprehensive reforms, monitor borders, abide by the Taif Agreement, limit arms to the legitimate state institutions and not be a launching pad for any terrorist acts that destabilize the region (nor) a source of drug trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMikati also said: \u201cI thank President Macron and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their keenness in maintaining the friendship toward Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMikati called both President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and briefed them on the phone call.<\/p>\n
\nMikati\u2019s media office said that Aoun and Berri \u201cexpressed their satisfaction and stressed their adherence to the best relations with Saudi Arabia and all brotherly Arab countries, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMikati called \u201call parties in Lebanon to appreciate the sensitivity of the situation and circumstances and not to take any action or interfere in any matter that offends the Arab brothers and harms the Lebanese.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHe added: \u201cIt is time to commit again to the policy of disassociation and not to involve ourselves and our country in what has nothing to do with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe Saudi position toward Lebanon left the Lebanese anxiously relieved about the extent of the seriousness of the ruling authority in implementing what was agreed on in Jeddah between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.<\/p>\n
\nAlthough Macron succeeded in opening the door to a solution to Lebanon\u2019s diplomatic and economic crisis with Saudi Arabia, and thus the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, after the resignation of Information Minister George Kordahi from the government following his statements about the Kingdom, there is a fear that Hezbollah will continue to embroil Lebanon in regional politics.<\/p>\n
\nHowever, MP Ali Darwish, who is from Prime Minister Mikati\u2019s parliamentary bloc, expects \u201cpositive signs to emerge in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDarwish said that appointing a parliamentary committee to try presidents, ministers and MPs in return for allowing Cabinet sessions to take place was \u201cone of the proposals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDarwish told Arab News that \u201cthe Saudi-French move has undoubtedly breached the wall of stalemate in Lebanon\u2019s relationship with the Gulf, which Lebanon is keen to be extremely good in the midst of the conflict in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nOn the implementation of the French-Saudi statement, Darwish said: \u201cThe reforms are contained in the ministerial statement of Prime Minister Mikati\u2019s government, and they are his government\u2019s agenda, and he is striving to achieve them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDarwish added: \u201cThe most important thing now is to restore the connection that was cut off, to return the ambassadors to Saudi Arabia and some Gulf countries, and to return the Arab ambassadors to Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDarwish said that the Mikati government would \u201cnever interfere in the judicial matter, as there is a separation of powers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHowever, he indicated that activating the Parliamentary Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers was possible but it required steps to be taken by parliament.<\/p>\n
\nDarwish added: \u201cHowever, the trade-off between this matter and any other matter, especially the dismissal of the governor of the Banque du Liban, is not on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDarwish said that Mikati\u2019s concern \u201cis securing the livelihood of the Lebanese people in light of the current severe economic crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHe said work was \u201cnow focused on rounding the corners and bringing the views closer.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lebanese president, PM and parliament speaker express satisfaction with Saudi-French agreement BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has affirmed his government\u2019s commitment to honoring its undertakings for reform. Mikati said that his joint phone call on Saturday with Saudi and French leaders was \u201can important step toward restoring historic brotherly relations with Riyadh.\u201d A joint…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}