Lebanon minister to resign in bid to ease crisis with Saudis
ABC News
Lebanon’s information minister says he will announce his resignation in a bid to ease an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries
BEIRUT -- Lebanon’s information minister is expected to announce his resignation Friday, in a bid to ease an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
Minister George Kordahi told local TV stations Al-Jadeed and MTV Thursday night that he intended to step down, weeks after televised comments he made that were critical of Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen sparked the crisis.
In response, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador and banned all Lebanese imports, which used to bring in about $240 million a year. Kordahi had refused to resign over the comments made before he assumed his Cabinet post, prolonging the crisis. Kordahi had said the war in Yemen was futile and called it an aggression by the Saudi-led coalition.
Yemen’s war began with the 2014 takeover of Sanaa by the Houthi rebels, who control much of the country’s north. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year, determined to restore the internationally recognized government and oust the rebels.