Lebanon’s caretaker foreign minister asked the president to be relieved of his duties on Wednesday, the presidency wrote on Twitter, after his comments in a television interview strained ties with his country’s traditional Gulf Arab allies and donors.
Charbel Wehbe, who is a minister in Lebanon’s caretaker government, stoked tensions with remarks on Monday that suggested Gulf states had supported the rise of ISIS and other disparaging comments.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain summoned Lebanon’s ambassadors and issued formal complaints.
After meeting President Michel Aoun, Wehbe said he had submitted a request to step down “in light of the recent developments and the circumstances that accompanied the interview I gave to a television station”.
(Reuters)