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New Lebanese president makes Gulf priority

With a visit to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 10, new Lebanese President Michel Aoun has signaled that warmer relations with the Gulf is at the top of his priority list.
Saudi King Salman bin Abulaziz Al-Saud welcomes Lebanon's President Michel Aoun (R) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 10, 2017. Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2YAKR
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Lebanese President Michel Aoun marked his first foreign policy success during his visit to Saudi Arabia Jan. 10. He broke the ice in the ties between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, which have been tense for over a year due to the repercussions of the Saudi-Iranian tug-of-war on Lebanon.

The rhetoric of Saudi Arabia and its Lebanese March 14 coalition allies in the past few years emphasized that the Lebanese state had been hijacked by Hezbollah, which was violating Lebanon’s sovereignty with its military intervention in Syria and its meddling in Arab and Gulf affairs, especially in Yemen and Bahrain. As a result, in March 2016, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) put Hezbollah on its terrorist list.

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