National News Agency
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi stressed during the celebration of the centenary of the relations between the Maronite Patriarchate and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that KSA "remains a friend of Lebanon and the Maronite Patriarchate, hoping to form a government and hold the parliamentary and then the presidential elections."
"We will not forget the Kingdom's mediation throughout the period of the war on Lebanon, especially since Saudi Arabia was the first Arab country to recognize Lebanon's independence and respect the choice and traditions of the Lebanese," Rahi said in his address.
"Saudi Arabia understands the meaning and value of Lebanon's presence among Arab countries, and has always been willing to maintain its independence and sovereignty. We do hope that the Lebanese-Saudi relations will restore their spontaneity and their previous practice," he added.
The Patriarch stressed that "Saudi Arabia never distinguished between one Lebanese and another. We saw how it embraced Christians. Our sons migrate for work, not for politics; they are the messengers of Lebanon, not the messengers of another country or another project."
He also pointed out that Saudi Arabia "has never abused Lebanon's sovereignty, nor did it ever violate its borders or involve it in wars. (…) The kingdom dealt with Lebanon with total respect to the Lebanese identity, pluralism, system, traditions, and way of living."
"We will not forget the Kingdom's mediation throughout the period of the war on Lebanon, especially since Saudi Arabia was the first Arab country to recognize Lebanon's independence and respect the choice and traditions of the Lebanese," Rahi said in his address.
"Saudi Arabia understands the meaning and value of Lebanon's presence among Arab countries, and has always been willing to maintain its independence and sovereignty. We do hope that the Lebanese-Saudi relations will restore their spontaneity and their previous practice," he added.
The Patriarch stressed that "Saudi Arabia never distinguished between one Lebanese and another. We saw how it embraced Christians. Our sons migrate for work, not for politics; they are the messengers of Lebanon, not the messengers of another country or another project."
He also pointed out that Saudi Arabia "has never abused Lebanon's sovereignty, nor did it ever violate its borders or involve it in wars. (…) The kingdom dealt with Lebanon with total respect to the Lebanese identity, pluralism, system, traditions, and way of living."
