Saudi Arabia denies interference in Lebanese presidential election

In a meeting with Lebanese officials, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, confirmed that all that is recently stirred up by the French side, with full support from Speaker Nabih Berri regarding the truth of the Saudi stance, is baseless and untrue.

This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan.

However, Bukhari stated that the election of a new president is an internal matter for Lebanon and that Saudi Arabia is committed to not interfering in this process.

In this context, Nidaa Al-Watan sources indicated that Bukhari delivered a message from the Saudi royal court to all parties involved in the presidential election, affirming that the kingdom will not exert pressure on any Lebanese group to elect a specific candidate.

Instead, when a president is elected, Riyadh will support them in implementing the necessary reforms and improving the country's political landscape.

Thus, the message delivered by Bukhari effectively dismisses recent claims by French officials and Berri that Saudi Arabia was pressuring its allies in Lebanon to elect a president aligned with French interests, and which would lead to the arrival of the head of the Marada Movement Sleiman Frangieh to Baabda Palace.

However, during his tour, Bukhari reiterated that the upcoming presidential election is a sovereign issue for Lebanon, and it is up to the Lebanese people to choose their next president.

It was noteworthy that during the preparations for the visit of Bukhari and his meeting with Berri, the latter said, "Neither the French nor the Saudis denied what I said about Riyadh's position regarding Frangieh's nomination."

This behavior of the Parliament Speaker seemed like he was preempting matters instead of waiting for the concerned party to make a statement.

Therefore, as a result of the expansion of defending Frangieh's nomination and directly targeting the leader of the "Lebanese Forces" party, Samir Geagea, who rejected this nomination, the party's media office responded to Berri and confirmed that "the insistence of the opposition on the equation of 'our candidate or devastation' "will not change in any way, internally or externally...

It also stated that "the days to come will prove more and more the validity of what they say and the inaccuracy of what President Berri says."

However, some sources were surprised by the timing of the return of the Saudi ambassador, which came immediately after a firm US stance by the State Department calling for the election of a "corruption-free president capable of unifying the country."

This hinted at harmony between Washington and Riyadh, which seemed keen to avoid any contradictions with the US after the recent complications in bilateral relations, whether regarding ties with the Syrian regime or the Beijing agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

This harmony in relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia could practically end the American authorization for Paris and its attempt to monopolize the management of the Lebanese presidential file after it was proven that the Elysee was not up to this authorization due to its obvious bias in favor of the axis that follows Iran's orders.