Report: SA Sets Conditions in Return for Reactivating Aid Programs for Lebanon

Saudi Arabia has set some conditions in return for reconsidering the activation of military and economic aid programs for Lebanon that have been halted in 2016, media reports said Monday.

Al-Joumhouria daily said that senior Saudi officials told President Michel Aoun during his visit to the Kingdom last week, that in order for SA to revitalize relations with Lebanon, it is crucial that the term of Aoun demonstrates “independence” away from any Lebanese parties' attempt to control it.

They pointed out that Aoun's term is “promising and positive, especially that the direct contact between King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and President Aoun was good.”

The conditions reportedly set by Riyadh are:

1:Iran and Hizbullah's behavior on the Lebanese arena in the upcoming months, mainly that the negotiations for a settlement in Syria began in parallel with the war ravaging there.

2: Conducting the parliamentary elections in order for Saudi Arabia to know whether Prime Minister Saad Hariri will be chosen to head the next cabinet, or if his earlier endorsement was a temporary procedure that came to guarantee the election of President Michel Aoun.