Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s official visit to Saudi Arabia and participation at the emergency Arab summit in Cairo this week kicked off a new positive phase in relations between Lebanon and the Arab world.
Days after his election as president in January, Aoun declared that Saudi Arabia would be the destination of his first foreign visit. He was accorded a warm welcome in the Kingdom on Monday and in Cairo on Tuesday.
His speech at the Arab summit was widely praised by the majority of participants and in Lebanon. Observers in Lebanon viewed his remarks as a continuation of the pledges he made during his inaugural speech.
Informed sources described Aoun’s meetings since the beginning of his term as “paving the way for a new chapter in relations between Lebanon and the Arab world in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular.”
They underlined the warm and extraordinary welcome he received in the Kingdom, noting that senior Saudi officials were present at Aoun’s reception.
They highlighted the closed-door talks between Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Aoun. They described the meeting as friendly and frank, revealing that it tackled the historic relations between their countries. The leaders were keen on issuing a joint statement after their talks, said the sources.
Aoun was accorded a similar warm welcome in Cairo where he met for the first time with a number of Arab heads of state.
“He was among the presidents who held the most bilateral meetings with officials, many of whom hadn’t met him before or only knew him as Lebanon’s army commander,” the sources said.
The Lebanese and Syrian presidents effectively “stole the spotlight” at the summit, each for the developments that had taken place in their countries, they added.
Lebanese former Ambassador to the United States Riad Tabbara said Aoun’s visit to Saudi Arabia opened a new chapter in ties with the Arab world.
His speech in Cairo can be summed up in “resistance through diplomacy,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Aoun set in his speech his course of action. He stressed resistance through diplomacy, and rejected the idea of establishing peace with Israel before Lebanon reclaims all of its occupied territories. He steered clear of threats and the use of force to achieve goals,” he added.
The speech effectively draws a roadmap for what Lebanon’s policy will be in the next phase given the changes that have taken place in the region, he stated.
At the summit, Aoun declared: “No one can possibly claim to be championing Palestine when Beirut is occupied, Damascus is destroyed, Amman is threatened, Baghdad is weakened and Sanaa falls.”
In Lebanon, sources from parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s bloc hailed his remarks, while sources from the Lebanese Forces said Aoun “returned Lebanon back to the Arab, regional and Gulf map after it was kept away from it for so long.”
They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon was kept away “not only because of the vacuum in the presidency, but because it was not one with itself, and did not believe in the state and constitution.”
“By committing to the state building project, Lebanon was able to reclaim its position, role and presence. This alone offers a glimmer of hope that Lebanon has embarked on a new phase that returns it to the table after its voice was usurped by Damascus or Hezbollah,” they stressed.
After their monthly meeting headed by Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, the Council of Maronite Bishops said Aoun’s visit to Riyadh bolstered Lebanon’s good relations with Saudi Arabia.
“We hope the visit will pave the way for others that will benefit the two countries,” they said in a statement.
On Aoun’s participation at the Cairo summit, they hoped it will help garner Arab support for Lebanon’s “drive to revive itself on all levels and correct course under the new president through state building and the rule of law and the constitution.”
The Kataeb Party echoed these remarks, saying the president’s visits “are a turning point that will return Lebanon to its natural place among its friends in the region so that it can reclaim its historic role and be present at regional discussions about its future and the future of the region.”