The Secretary of State and the US Ambassador: Lebanese stuttering and distortion of the facts

It is not the first time that the Lebanese Foreign Ministry has reversed the US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea. The meeting between the ambassador and the Minister of Foreign Affairs is moved from the section of “calls” to the field of “periodic meetings”. In any case, this policy has become part of the nature of the time and of the Hassan Diab government, as the content of meetings, meetings or communications has changed. In this case, it is necessary to recall some positions that indicate that Lebanese officials have changed the content of multiple meetings. Once in a meeting between Hassan Diab and various ambassadors, and again in a meeting between Diab and the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Twisting facts and words
Also, with respect to the positions of the President of the Republic, and the confusion that occurred during Aoun’s meeting with the United States Under Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs, David Schenker, when the Republican Palace issued a statement in the which was attributed to Schenker praising Aoun’s efforts to fight corruption. Read what is written on a board that includes a sword and spoke words about the importance of facing corruption and cutting it down. The same position was also repeated on the day the sanctions were issued against the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil. The presidential palace issued a statement stating that Aoun had received a call from French President Emmanuel Macron, only to later find out that Aoun had called the French president.

This characteristic applies to the meeting between the interim government’s foreign minister, Charbel Wehbe, and the US ambassador to Lebanon. When Wahba summoned the US ambassador, he began marketing the matter as a subpoena, with the aim of holding her accountable for the documents that led the US Treasury to issue sanctions against Gebran Bassil and other ministers. It appears that the American reaction was negative, causing the chancellor and officials to fear such a reaction. The prelude began to recede, through “sources from the Chancellery” that indicate that the meeting is a normal meeting and not a convocation. In addition to discussing US-Lebanese cooperation. Finally, the position on the question of the documents that led to the imposition of sanctions on Bassil and others was approved.

Greetings to the Minister
The Foreign Minister’s statement after the meeting placed him in the category of the periodic meetings he holds with the ambassadors, and repeated the content of what was leaked on the files presented. The statement read: “The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates met in the interim government, Charbel Wehbe, the US ambassador. The American Dorothy Chia spoke with her about bilateral relations and their strengthening, and the support and support of the United States for Lebanon in various areas, in addition to the issue of negotiations to demarcate the maritime border and the return of the displaced to their country. , and the transition stage from the current administration to the new administration in America. “

The discussion also touched on measures taken by the US administration against some Lebanese, including former MPs and ministers, and the head of a balanced parliamentary bloc. Wehbe wished the US ambassador “that the Lebanese and judicial authorities can access any information or document that the US administration has relied on to take these measures. This within the framework of the reforms he promised and the improvement of transparency in the public work”.
This is what was left of Lebanese “diplomacy” in the “strong era”.