On Friday, saying he is ready to resign if there are guarantees that the Gulf countries will change their position towards Lebanon, Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi said he is not in a position to challenge anyone.
Following his meeting with Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri, Kordahi said, “When there are guarantees, I am ready for resignation and I am not defying anyone, neither the prime minister nor Saudi Arabia which I love.”
Statements made by Kordahi on the Yemeni conflict, prior to taking his post in the new Lebanese government, have strained the relations between Gulf nations and Lebanon.
In a televised interview where was asked if he “thinks that the Houthis, like Hezbollah, are defending their land as an armed organization,” Kordahi responded: “Of course they are defending themselves … My personal opinion is that this war in Yemen needs to end. Houses, buildings, villages, and cities are being attacked by fighter jets.”
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, and Bahrain, angered by Kordahi’s critical comments, reacted by recalling their ambassadors from Lebanon.
Kordahi also said that there are different views regarding his resignation and went on to accuse some Lebanese officials, without naming them, of trying to take advantage of his case.
Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The situation worsened when a Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government involved itself, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises.
