Three Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, have summoned the ambassadors of Lebanon, as an objection to the statements of the Lebanese Minister of Information, George Kordahi, towards Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered a note of protest to the Lebanese ambassador regarding the statements it considered offensive by Kordahi.
Kordahi had earlier mentioned in an interview on Al-Jazeera in August – before he was nominated Information Minister as he now says in his defense- that the Houthis in Yemen have the right to defend themselves in the face of external aggression from both the Saudi Kingdom and the UAE.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered that the statements are biased towards the Houthi militia that “threatens the security and stability of the region.”
The Saudi Ministry clarified that the summoning of the Lebanese ambassador came “because of the repercussions that these offensive statements may have on the relations between the two countries,” that are, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
In a similar move, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry summoned the Lebanese ambassador and handed him an official protest note “containing the complete rejection of the State of Kuwait” of Kordahi‘s statements towards KSA and the UAE.
According to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), Bahrain has also summoned the Lebanese ambassador and handed him a similar note of condemnation.
The Bahraini Ministry of Affairs expressed its strong condemnation of the statements made by the Lebanese Minister of Information, and considered his allegations as false, and deny the said documented facts and internationally proven evidence allegedly mentioned by Kordahi.
Kordahi had criticized during an interview the Arab military coalition led by KSA and in which the UAE participates, since 2015, to support the Yemeni government forces in the face of the Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa, and most of the northern Yemeni governorates.
