Saudi Arabia abandons Lebanon mediation

Saudi Arabia abandons Lebanon mediation

2011-01-20 05:27:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

RIYADH (BNO NEWS) - Saudi Arabia has abandoned efforts to mediate in Lebanon's political crisis, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal said on Wednesday in a TV interview.

The minister said during the interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV, that King Abdullah has decided he is "withdrawing his hand" from Lebanon. Al-Faisal described the situation in Lebanon as "dangerous" and expressed fears of division in the multi-confessional nation, the daily Arab News reported.

"It's dangerous, particularly if it reaches separatism or the division of Lebanon. This would mean the end of Lebanon as a model of peaceful coexistence between religions and ethnicities and different factions," he said.

Lebanon is enduring a political crisis stemming from a United Nations (UN) court investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The UN announced on Tuesday that the tribunal received its first indictment, but its contents remain confidential at this stage. Hizbollah fears being implicated in Hariri's killing, but the group insists it will not accept it.

Last Wednesday, the government of national unity collapsed when 11 cabinet ministers from Hizbollah and allied groups resigned after months of negotiations brokered by Saudi Arabia and Syria failed to produce a compromise over the tribunal.

Many fear the political crisis could lead to street protests and violence. The country has a history of conflicts, including a devastating 1975-1990 civil war and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008.

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