Lebanese minister behind Saudi remarks rift resigns

Saudi Arabia had said George Kordahi's comments were "insulting"

Lebanon's information minister, whose criticism of the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen caused a major rift with Gulf states, has resigned.

George Kordahi said he was doing so in "the interests of my country and my people".

Comments he made weeks ago outraged Saudi Arabia, which expelled Lebanon's ambassador and banned its imports, dealing a blow to its ailing economy.

Other Gulf countries took similar punitive measures.

Relations between Saudi Arabia, one of the most powerful and influential countries in the region, and Lebanon were already strained when the diplomatic spat erupted.

It was triggered by an interview in which Mr Kordahi appeared to call Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aggressors in the war in Yemen. He said the conflict was "futile" and that Saudi Arabia's foes in the war were acting in "self-defence".

A Saudi-led military coalition of mostly Sunni Muslim Arab states has been fighting the Houthi Shia Muslim rebel movement in Yemen since 2015.

The interview was recorded in August, before Mr Kordahi was appointed information minister, and aired in October after he had taken office.

• EXPLAINER: Why is there a war in Yemen?

Saudi Arabia's close allies Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE followed the kingdom in taking diplomatic action against Lebanon.

The measures cost Lebanon's already beleaguered economy millions of dollars in desperately needed foreign currency and made the position of 350,000 Lebanese workers in Gulf Arab states more precarious.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies were formerly major donors to Lebanon but have taken more of a backseat as the Hezbollah movement - an ally of Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran - increased its influence as part of Lebanon's government.

Mr Kordahi said he was stepping down to help French President Emmanuel Macron discuss the issue of improving relations between Lebanon and Gulf states when he visits Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

France, the former colonial power in Lebanon, has close ties to the country and has led international efforts to help it recover from its economic crisis.

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