Lebanon asks Russia for help. Putin ready to go to Qatar

Lebanon asked Russia for diplomatic assistance in resolving the conflict in the Middle East, the country's ambassador to Russia, Shawki Bou Nassar said.

Photo: website of the President of the Russian Federation by Presidential Press and Information Office, CC BY 4.0

According to the official, he asked to intensify diplomatic efforts and contact all interested parties and influential actors in the Middle East and around the world, including the UN and other international organizations.

"Moscow has made it clear that Russian officials are making numerous calls to enlist support for a peaceful solution," Shawki Bou Nassar, Lebanese Ambassador to Russia said.

He also set out a hope that Russia would continue to supply Lebanon with humanitarian aid as the conflict with Israel is not going to end soon, as the ambassador believes.

"It seems that this conflict may last for a long time. A lot of people are going to be displaced and the need for humanitarian aid from Russia and other friendly countries will only grow," the diplomat admitted.

Earlier on Thursday, a special flight of the Russian Emergencies Ministry delivered 33 tons of humanitarian aid to Lebanon for residents of the republic. The Russian airplane delivered food, medicine, essential items and power plants. The humanitarian aid was delivered in accordance with instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin may personally go to Qatar to help resolve the conflict

The RIA_Kremlinpool Telegram channel (the channel is close to the Kremlin) reported on October 3 that the Russian president may visit Qatar.

Moscow and Doha are currently discussing the timing of Putin's possible visit to Qatar, as well as the visit of a Qatari emir to Russia.

Such a visit could be part of the international effort to resolve the Middle East conflict.

On October 3, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked the central district of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, for the first time.

The same day, Hezbollah militants announced that they had stopped the IDF's breakthrough into Lebanon with the help of artillery fire. The day before, Hezbollah fighters had their first battle with Israeli infantry. The fighting took place in southern Lebanon, near the village of Odayse. Hezbollah reported that the IDF fighters had retreated.

The Lebanese Armed Forces are not participating in military clashes and have even withdrawn from a number of positions in the south of the country near the border with Israel. Lebanese military officials said that they were "redeploying and regrouping" the forces.

Over the past year, the Lebanese Aremd Forces have not carried out strikes on Israeli territory — It was the Hezbollah group that conducted all the attacks.

Details

Lebanon officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia, bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the country's coastline. It is at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi). Beirut is the country's capital and largest city.
 

Qatar officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares its sole land border with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Bahrain, an inlet of the Persian Gulf, separates Qatar from nearby Bahrain. The capital is Doha, home to over 80% of the country's inhabitants. Most of the land area is made up of flat, low-lying desert.