Saudis Recall Ambassador to Germany After Gabriel’s Remarks
Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Germany for consultations on Saturday after its foreign minister criticized attempts to destabilize Lebanon, local media said.
The SPA, a Saudi state news agency, cited its source in the Gulf monarchy’s Foreign Ministry as saying that a note of protest would be issued to the German ambassador.
German foreign policy chief Sigmar Gabriel warned Thursday against attempts to destabilize Lebanon after meeting his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil in Berlin.
The publication said Saudi Arabia regarded Gabriel’s remarks as ill-thought-through, misinformed and damaging for the stability in the Middle East.
Lebanon has lately been engulfed in political crisis. On November 4, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation while on a trip to Saudi Arabia, expressing fear that he could be assassinated, like his father, in Lebanon.
Hariri accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and Iran of attempts to destabilize the country and the Middle East. Lebanese President Michel Aoun suggested he was held up by the Saudis.