A prominent Saudi figure called Lebanese President Michel Sleiman thanking him on his supporting statements which “defend Lebanon’s interest”

A prominent Saudi figure called Lebanese President Michel Sleiman thanking him on his supporting statements which “defend Lebanon’s interest”, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the paper, Baabda Palace sources told the newspaper that Suleiman's “stance wasn't to take sides with any axis in the region but to defend Lebanon's interest.”

“Saudi Arabia supports Lebanon on many levels,” the sources said.

Al-Joumhouria also reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri, who departed Lebanon at the end of November, will remain in Riyadh until further notice and will not return to Lebanon anytime soon.

Sleiman rejected what he called “reckless accusations” that Saudi Arabia was behind last month’s attack on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. “It is not acceptable to ruin the historic ties with a dear state and its people – here I mean Saudi Arabia – by making reckless accusations against it without judicial, real or concrete basis,” Sleiman said.