Riyadh Describes Lebanon Situation as 'Dangerous,' Announces End of Mediation
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Wednesday that Riyadh has abandoned mediation efforts in Lebanon, where he described the situation as "dangerous."
Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad had been in contact "with commitment to end the whole Lebanon problem," said the foreign minister in an interview with Arab satellite TV network al-Arabiya.
"When that did not happen, the custodian of the holy mosques said he was pulling his hand out" from the effort, he told the Saudi-owned TV channel.
Describing the situation in Lebanon as "dangerous," Faisal expressed fears of division in the multi-confessional nation.
"If the situation reaches full separation and (regional) partition, this means the end of Lebanon as a state that has this model of peaceful cohabitation between (different) religions and ethnicities," he added.
Diplomats said that Abdullah told U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this month that he was halting his mediation attempt.
One diplomat had quoted the Saudi king, who is recovering from back surgery in the United States, as saying in one meeting: "It's over, I tried for several months to find an agreement between them but I couldn't, so it's over."
Source: Agence France Presse
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