Bukhari Stresses Saudi Arabia’s Support for Lebanon

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari meets with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rahi in Diman. (National News Agency)
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari meets with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rahi in Diman. (National News Agency)
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Bukhari Stresses Saudi Arabia’s Support for Lebanon

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari meets with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rahi in Diman. (National News Agency)
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari meets with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rahi in Diman. (National News Agency)

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari stressed on Monday the Kingdom’s support for Lebanon and keenness on helping it overcome its various crises.

The ambassador met with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rahi in Diman for talks on efforts carried out by the Quintet Committee to end the vacuum in Lebanon’s presidency.

He briefed the patriarch on the Quintet’s latest meeting.

They discussed French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian’s upcoming visit to Lebanon that will tackle the vacuum and push forward efforts to end the impasse.

Bukhari and Al-Rahi also reviewed the situation in southern Lebanon and the war on Gaza, said a statement from the Patriarchate. Bukhari had left the meeting without making a statement.

Bukhari and Al-Rahi met days after the Quintet met for the first time on Saturday since taking a break for the summer. The Quintet is formed of Bukhari, US Ambassador Lisa Johnson, French Ambassador Hervé Magro, Qatari Ambassador Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian Ambassador Alaa Moussa.

They will resume their efforts to resolve the deadlock over the presidency next week.

Moussa met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, confirming that the Quintet will resume its meetings with Lebanese officials.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Aoun ended in October 2022. Bickering among political parties has thwarted attempts to fill the vacuum.



Mediator Qatar Says Israel ‘Did Not Abide’ by Gaza Truce Deal

 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
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Mediator Qatar Says Israel ‘Did Not Abide’ by Gaza Truce Deal

 Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, left, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Thursday that Israel had failed to respect January’s ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

“As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,” said the ruler of Qatar, a key mediator of the deal.

A truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar with Egypt and the United States, came into force on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting triggered by Palestinian fighters’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The initial phase of the truce ended in early March, with the two sides unable to agree on the next steps. Israel resumed air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip on March 18 after earlier halting the entry of aid.

Israel said Wednesday that it had converted 30 percent of Gaza into a buffer zone in the widening offensive.

Sheikh Tamim said Qatar would “strive to bridge perspectives in order to reach an agreement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.”

Putin recognized Qatar’s “serious efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict” and called deaths in the conflict “a tragedy.”

“A long-term settlement can only be achieved on the basis of the UN resolution and first of all connected to the establishment of two states,” he added.

Israel’s renewed assault has so far killed at least 1,691 people in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reported, bringing the overall toll since the war erupted to 51,065, most of them civilians.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.