Lebanon says government can’t afford to resign as Saudi rift widens

BEIRUT: Lebanon's government cannot afford to resign over a growing diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states, a member of a Lebanese crisis group of ministers said on Saturday following a near three-hour meeting over the widening rift.

"The country cannot be left without a government," due to other pressing matters, and would continue to work to resolve the rift, Education Minister Abbas Halabi said after the meeting.

The row over critical comments made by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen had spurred calls by some top politicians for Kordahi's resignation, while others opposed the move.

Saudi Arabia expelled Lebanon's envoy and banned all Lebanese imports on Friday, and Bahrain and Kuwait followed suit, giving the top Lebanese diplomats 48 hours to exit.