By NNN-KUNA
Beirut : The Saudi embassy here denied in an issued statement on Friday any interference by Saudi Arabia in the internal affairs of Lebanon, underlining that the Saudi role was confined to “bringing closer opposing views of conflicting Lebanese factions.”
“The Saudi role in Lebanon reflects the Saudi leadership’s keenness for a secure and safe Lebanon, and does not in any way seek to affect any political decisions made by the Lebanese themselves, but rather to bring together to the dialogue table opposing views of various political groups and politicians in Lebanon, with the ultimate objective of finding solutions to their current problems,” said the statement.
“A fundamental rule in Saudi policy is non-interference in any country’s internal affairs, no matter how close is Saudi Arabia’s relationship with that country,” said the statement.
This Saudi denial has come in response to what the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar (which is close to the Opposition) alleged in an article that Saudi Arabia had made up its mind to count MP al-Hariri and PM al-Siniora out of the Lebanese government.
The embassy statement said that the Lebanese constitution is crystal clear on the methodology of selecting head of the government and on the role the lawmakers assume in that selection.
It added that the president of the country carries out consultations with the lawmakers to bring the selection process to fruition, all within prescribed letters of the law. Any sidestepping this process would be counterproductive, said the statement as it affirmed the important role the parliamentary majority should play in the entire process of forming a new government.