“What occurred in the meeting between king Abdullah & Hezbollah’s envoys?”
“What occurred in the meeting between king Abdullah & Hezbollah’s envoys?”
As Safir, an independent leftist newspaper, reported in its January 4 issue about the latest political developments in the relationship between Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia. The newspaper wrote: “After a long absence, and in a remarkable coincidence, the communications started again between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey towards the leadership of Hezbollah plus the other political factions, in power and outside it in a stark warning about the severity of the situation and the necessity of solving it as soon as possible. The visit of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan fell in the same context…The Turkish advice to the Hezbollah leadership seemed similar to Egyptian and Saudi advice especially from the Saudi king Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz who received last week the deputy secretary general of Hezbollah Sheikh Na’im Qassim accompanied by the ex minister Muhammad Fneish…”
The newspaper added: “According to Arab diplomatic sources in the Saudi capital, the arrangements for the visit by the Hezbollah delegation to the kingdom started several weeks ago and was handled on the Saudi side by the head of the intelligence services and deputy head of the Mecca area prince Makrin Bin Abdul-Aziz in coordination with the king. The sources announced to As Safir that the Saudi ambassador in Beirut went to the kingdom to perform the Hajj rituals and was informed there that the arrangements are complete after which the delegation arrived where it was received by king Abdullah in a three hour meeting with the attendance of the foreign minister Sa’ud Al-Faisal, prince Makrin, and ambassador Khojah. The sources added that the meeting was characterized with intimacy, openness, and mutual anxiety over the Islamic unity and preventing the fires of sectarian strife as well as anxiety over Lebanon’s unity and its impregnability in the face of the dangers surrounding the region.”
The newspaper continued: “The sources confirmed that king Abdullah said some good words about Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah and stressed Lebanon’s dearness to his heart then he moved to discuss the general situation in the region starting with Iran and the ‘good relationship lining us [Saudis] to them’ through to the wounded Iraq and the anxiety over preserving its unity then to Palestine and the difficulties that its people are facing and the Israeli occupation. The Saudi king focused on Lebanon and stressed that the kingdom had never taken through out its history an action in the interest of a single or group of sects in Lebanon but had always, since the civil war in 1975, worked to serve the interests of all of its people, Christians and Muslims, and that today it is not taking an attitude in favour of any sect or faction but is anxious more than over Lebanon’s unity, especially the Lebanese Muslims, as it doesn’t discriminate but stands at an equal distance from all the factions…”
The newspaper added: “The Hezbollah delegation stressed its point of view towards Islamic unity as an article of faith and confirmed that Sunni Shi’i strife is a red line and that Hezbollah has always played a role even outside Lebanon in fortifying Islamic unity…” - As Safir, Lebanon
As Safir, an independent leftist newspaper, reported in its January 4 issue about the latest political developments in the relationship between Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia. The newspaper wrote: “After a long absence, and in a remarkable coincidence, the communications started again between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey towards the leadership of Hezbollah plus the other political factions, in power and outside it in a stark warning about the severity of the situation and the necessity of solving it as soon as possible. The visit of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan fell in the same context…The Turkish advice to the Hezbollah leadership seemed similar to Egyptian and Saudi advice especially from the Saudi king Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz who received last week the deputy secretary general of Hezbollah Sheikh Na’im Qassim accompanied by the ex minister Muhammad Fneish…”
The newspaper added: “According to Arab diplomatic sources in the Saudi capital, the arrangements for the visit by the Hezbollah delegation to the kingdom started several weeks ago and was handled on the Saudi side by the head of the intelligence services and deputy head of the Mecca area prince Makrin Bin Abdul-Aziz in coordination with the king. The sources announced to As Safir that the Saudi ambassador in Beirut went to the kingdom to perform the Hajj rituals and was informed there that the arrangements are complete after which the delegation arrived where it was received by king Abdullah in a three hour meeting with the attendance of the foreign minister Sa’ud Al-Faisal, prince Makrin, and ambassador Khojah. The sources added that the meeting was characterized with intimacy, openness, and mutual anxiety over the Islamic unity and preventing the fires of sectarian strife as well as anxiety over Lebanon’s unity and its impregnability in the face of the dangers surrounding the region.”
The newspaper continued: “The sources confirmed that king Abdullah said some good words about Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah and stressed Lebanon’s dearness to his heart then he moved to discuss the general situation in the region starting with Iran and the ‘good relationship lining us [Saudis] to them’ through to the wounded Iraq and the anxiety over preserving its unity then to Palestine and the difficulties that its people are facing and the Israeli occupation. The Saudi king focused on Lebanon and stressed that the kingdom had never taken through out its history an action in the interest of a single or group of sects in Lebanon but had always, since the civil war in 1975, worked to serve the interests of all of its people, Christians and Muslims, and that today it is not taking an attitude in favour of any sect or faction but is anxious more than over Lebanon’s unity, especially the Lebanese Muslims, as it doesn’t discriminate but stands at an equal distance from all the factions…”
The newspaper added: “The Hezbollah delegation stressed its point of view towards Islamic unity as an article of faith and confirmed that Sunni Shi’i strife is a red line and that Hezbollah has always played a role even outside Lebanon in fortifying Islamic unity…” - As Safir, Lebanon
