A European ambassador has described the Lebanese government as “very fragile” over differences among its members on the normalization of relations with Syria.
The diplomat said that Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Saleh Gharib was the first cabinet member to stir controversy and divide the government to two camps.
He criticized Gharib for traveling to Damascus without receiving a green light from Prime Minister Saad Hariri and without informing him about the nature of his visit.
The Ambassador said Gharib infuriated Hariri when visiting the Syrian capital before the new Lebanese cabinet had held its first session.
This has promoted Hariri to summon Gharib and urge him to respect the rules of work inside the government. He even banned Gharib from submitting a report on the results of his Damascus trip.
On Sunday, Gharib was upset when he was not invited to accompany the Lebanese delegation, headed by Hariri, to the Brussels III Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region.
Commenting on the issue, the European ambassador said he was surprised when President Michel Aoun received Gharib following his trip to Damascus and when Minister of State for Presidency Affairs Salim Jreissati defended Gharib’s demands to be part of the official delegation to the Belgian capital.
The Ambassador did not hesitate to hint about serious differences between the Presidential Palace and the government seat on the matter.
In this regard, European diplomatic sources in Beirut raised question marks on Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil’s decision not to attend the Brussels conference, despite receiving an official invitation.
They said claims made by Bassil that he has other engagements are not convincing.
“Isn’t the meeting held at the ministerial level to discuss the burden of Syrian refugees in Lebanon more important than any other engagement?” the sources asked.
Some parties inside the cabinet back the normalization of relations with Syria while the rest reject to have any ties with the regime of Bashar Assad.
