UAE urges citizens in Lebanon to return as soon as possible

CAIRO - The United Arab Emirates has called on it citizens in Lebanon to return as soon as possible, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The UAE had decided on Saturday to withdraw its diplomats from Lebanon and ban its citizens from visiting the country, in solidarity with Saudi Arabia after statements critical of the Kingdom's role in the Yemeni war from Lebanon's information minister George Kordahi.

The Lebanese minister said on Sunday resigning from the government "is out of the question," Al Jadeed TV channel quoted him as saying.

Riyadh on Friday expelled Lebanon's envoy and banned all Lebanese imports, in protest at comments made by Kordahi critical of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. Bahrain and Kuwait followed suit while the United Arab Emirates withdrew its diplomats from Beirut.

Kordahi said he made his comments about the war in Yemen before becoming a minister.

Oil-rich Gulf Arab states had long channelled funds into Lebanon’s fragile economy. Alarmed by the rising influence of their arch-rival Iran’s ally Hezbollah in the government, they have become reluctant to ease its financial crisis.

Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, the country's top Christian cleric, called on the authorities on Sunday to take a "decisive" step to end the row.