Lebanese president seeks to avert crisis with Gulf over minister's comments

FILE PHOTO: Charbel Wehbe, Lebanon's newly appointed foreign minister arrives at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon's president said on Tuesday that critical comments made by the foreign minister about Gulf states did not reflect official policy, seeking to avoid further strain on ties with countries that have been Lebanon's allies and donors.

Mired in its worst economic crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war, Lebanon has lost the financial backing of wealthy Sunni Muslim Gulf states, which resent the rising influence of Hezbollah, a Lebanese group backed by regional rival Shi'ite Iran.