PM Najib Mikati speaks after meeting with President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon Aug. 16, 2021. (Credit: Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
BEIRUT — Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s “support for Lebanon,” a week after French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced a vague initiative to help the beleaguered country.
Here is what we know:
• In a tweet, Mikati hailed bin Salman’s tour of Gulf states ahead of the 42nd summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) scheduled for Dec. 14 in Riyadh.
• Mikati welcomed bin Salman’s “support for Lebanon,” amid a diplomatic spat between Beirut and Riyadh that saw the desert Kingdom recall its ambassador from Lebanon and ban imports from the country in late October.
• While Saudi Arabia announced last week that it would work with France on a joint-mechanism to provide humanitarian aid for Lebanon, details have not been forthcoming, and Riyadh has not yet taken any concrete steps indicating that it was warming to Lebanon.