Beirut: King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz welcomed Samir Geagea, the leader of the Lebanese Forces, in Jeddah to review the latest developments in the Arab World as well as coordinate steps to secure regional stability.
The occasion was a critical gathering to address serious developments in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region and was attended by leading officials including Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister; Dr Musa’id Al Ayban, the Minister of State; Dr Adel Al Toraifi, the Minister of Culture and Information; Dr Nazar Madani, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Khalid Al Humaidan, the Chief of General Intelligence.
A leading March 14 parliamentarian told Gulf News that the visit was initiated by Geagea to better understand King Salman’s policies towards Lebanon. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, insisted that the head of the Lebanese Forces was seriously concerned with the paralysis that confronted the cabinet and feared that the March 8 coalition, led by Hezbollah, intended to force a government collapse. Geagea apparently wished to hear from the Saudi monarch whether Riyadh would back Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s efforts to restore internal order by upholding the constitution and the Taif Accords in light of the latest international agreements with Iran over the latter’s nuclear programme.
Like the kingdom’s leadership, Geagea was seriously worried that Iran would channel some of the financial windfalls it expects after UN sanctions are lifted to be channelled to Hezbollah, which, given the latter’s emphasis on the military option, could tip the Lebanese balance of power in its favour.
Saudi officials failed to provide details on the Geagea visit and what else may have been discussed between the two men, although the participation by a group of high-level Saudi officials confirmed that King Salman shared the Lebanese visitor’s apprehensions, and wished to reveal his policy intentions, instructing several of his officials to follow up as necessary.
As tensions rose in Lebanon’s border region with Syria where Hezbollah fighters, seconded by Iranian Revolutionary Guards “advisers” fought fierce battles, both Saudi and Lebanese representatives were sufficiently alarmed to contemplate various preventive steps. Both backed the Lebanese Armed Forces as the sole legitimate institution that was entrusted with the security of the state. Over a period of nine months between 2013 and 2014, Saudi Arabia granted the Lebanese Government — the army as well as the Internal Security Forces — $4 billion to purchase defence equipment from France and other countries.
