Lebanese President Michel Suleiman’s trip to Saudi Arabia in mid-November did not go so well on many levels – the worst moment being when the Saudi king told him that the army must stop Hezbollah from fighting in Syria.
Two weeks have passed since President Michel Suleiman returned from his visit to Saudi Arabia, and the bad news about how it went keeps flowing. It was billed as a critical visit during which the Lebanese president was hoping to get a Saudi nod in favor of forming a government.
In the end, very little was achieved other than a cold reception by the king, who barely had anything to say to Suleiman, other than ordering him to send the army after Hezbollah to prevent it from fighting in Syria.
Worse yet, when the president arrived at the meeting with the king, he was surprised to see former prime minister Saad Hariri sitting by the monarch’s side, as if he were the honored guest.
The president did try to go through the formalities of talking about the dangers Lebanon was facing as a result of the Syrian crisis, mentioning the flood of refugees. Suleiman did not fail to mention the “positive role” that the kingdom was playing in Lebanon to preserve its economic well-being, only to be told sternly by his royal host: “You must send in the army to prevent Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria.”
The president was taken aback and was at a loss for words. This is when Hariri stepped in to heap praise upon Suleiman, saying that the man was doing all he could to keep Lebanon out of the Syrian crisis and that if he were able to stop Hezbollah in any way, he would have.
At this point, it was impossible for Suleiman to raise the issue of forming a government – if the Saudis want the Lebanese army to fight Hezbollah, then having a reasonable discussion about a new cabinet seemed impossible.
The president did manage to raise the issue of Syrian refugees and support for the army with other Saudi officials he met. In the end, however, he returned demoralized, with nothing more than promises and a sense that Lebanon will continue to be site of confrontation and violence for the coming months.
(Al-Akhbar)
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.