Bukhari says Taif Agreement not a 'mysterious riddle'

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari on Monday tweeted about Lebanon’s 1989 Taif Agreement, which ended the country’s 15-year civil war.

“The National Reconciliation Accord (Taif Agreement), which was endorsed by the Lebanese under Arab and international sponsorship, is neither an illusion nor a mysterious riddle,” Bukhari tweeted.

“It is written in an articulate Arabic language,” the ambassador added.

Negotiated by Lebanese lawmakers in the Saudi city of Taif, the Taif Agreement was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon."

Though the agreement set a timeframe for withdrawal of Syrian military forces from Lebanon, stipulating that the Syrian occupation end within two years, Syria did not withdraw its forces from the country until 2005. It was signed on 22 October 1989 and ratified by the Lebanese parliament on 5 November 1989.

The agreement came into effect with the active mediation of Saudi Arabia, discreet participation by the United States, and behind-the-scenes influence from Syria.