BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday he did not discuss Saudi relations during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron last week. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies have traditionally chanelled funds into Lebanon but they have been reluctant to do so during the country's financial crisis as they alarmed by the rise in influence of the Iran-backed armed Hezbollah group. In an interview with local television LBCI, Mikati said there was no planned visit to Saudi Arabia yet but stressed he would strive to improve Lebanese-Arab relations and would not allow for the country to be used as a platform to harm Arab neighbours. "I don't have at the current time a programme to visit Saudi Arabia," Mikati said. In answer to a question on whether France's Macron would open the doors to better relations with Gulf monarchies except Saudi, Mikati said the topic was not discussed and that only bilateral relations were brought up.
