Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed regret for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s decision and the steps it has taken, which was revealed this afternoon.

Mikati stated that “we have always expressed our rejection of any mistreatment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and called for the correction of flaws in the relations between the two brotherly countries during the past period,” and that “one of the priorities of our government is to work on restoring historical relations and ties between Lebanon and its Arab brothers,” as stated in the ministerial statement.

We also stated and emphasized two days ago that Information Minister George Kordahi’s perspective, which he announced before taking office, does not represent the government’s viewpoint.

We greatly regret the Kingdom’s decision, and we hope that its wise leadership will reconsider it, while we, for our part, will continue to work tirelessly to correct the errors that have been brought to our attention and solve what needs to be addressed.

“We extend our sincere appreciation and respect to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, and his Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, and express to them our strong and categorical rejection of everything that harms the deep brotherly relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has always stood by the Lebanese people to overcome its great challenges over many decades, and we affirm our adherence to all the strong brotherly ties and our relentless pursuit in order to maintain the best brotherly relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council,” Mikati explained.

We also appeal to our Arab brothers to work together to resolve this situation in order to maintain Arab unity in these trying times for our countries and people. We are continuing to make contacts in order to solve the problem and its consequences.