LBCI’s report on Sleiman-Hariri-Faisal meeting draws harsh criticism

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Assiri spoke out against LBCI’s report, aired Monday night, on the recent meeting between President Michel Sleiman and Prince Saud al-Faisal in Saudi Arabia, describing it as “irrelevant” to the reality though aired by a TV station renowned for its credibility, as he said.      

In a statement to LBCI, Assiri confirmed that what al-Faisal was quoted as saying is a “pure fabrication”, adding that some statements included in the report were not uttered and that Lebanese officials and President Michel Sleiman bore witness to the meeting.     

The Saudi ambassador stressed that the Saudi position on dialogue is clear and that the letter addressed by the Saudi king to Sleiman authentically expresses the Saudi position, stressing that what Hariri was quoted as saying is false.     

“Some parties are trying to thwart dialogue; those who fabricated these statements are enemies of Lebanon’s stability,” he stressed.        

In this context, President Michel Sleiman outright denied to al-Mustaqbal daily statements included in LBCI’s report, saying “I know what to say; I do not need to reveal my statements because they are destined to my addressee; but is it possible for the Lebanese president to request from Saudi Arabia to play the role of mediator [between Lebanon] and Israel?”     

In turn, Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi denied in a statement to al-Mustaqbal the content of the report “which offends the president whose position on the visit was very honest and clear.”      

In turn, the media office of former PM Saad Hariri said the report is fabricated and irrelevant to the reality, voicing regret that “false” information are being published simultaneously with the national dialogue sessions.   

Click here to read LBCI’s report