Saad Hariri says he will return to Lebanon within next two days

In a Twitter announcement, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he is fine and would return from Saudi Arabia in the next two days.

Saad Hariri plunged Lebanon into crisis with his surprise resignation during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

Saad Hariri plunged Lebanon into crisis with his surprise resignation during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday announced that he would return from Saudi Arabia in the next two days.

"I am feeling very well, I will return to Lebanon within two days," Hariri wrote on Twitter. 

"My family lives here in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom of goodness," he added.

On November 4, Hariri announced resignation during a televised speech broadcast from Saudi Arabia. 

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has refused to accept his resignation, which came under mysterious circumstances, until Hariri returns to the country.

Lebanon has insisted the resignation was forced by Hariri’s Saudi patrons and that he is being kept in the kingdom against his will. Hariri denied those reports in a Sunday TV interview and said he’ll return to Lebanon within days.

Some Lebanese officials have said he should return with his family, so he could be free of any Saudi pressure.

Iran-Saudi tensions

Hariri’s resignation came amid mounting tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. 

Hariri lashed out at Lebanon's Hezbollah movement in his resignation speech and said he feared for his safety. 

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group that is also a member of Hariri's coalition government, has cast his resignation as a Saudi plot to plunge Lebanon into chaos, and has called on him to return.

Hariri, a dual Lebanese-Saudi national, has homes in Saudi Arabia. His wife and children have been living in Saudi Arabia for years.

AP

A woman holds a placard supporting the return of Lebanese prime minister from Saudi Arabia, during a marathon in capital Beirut on November 12, 2017.

EU supports Hariri's return

Earlier Tuesday, Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil's flew to Brussels on the first leg of a European tour that aims to rally support for his country's stability following Hariri's resignation.

During Bassil's meeting with the EU's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini, the latter stressed the European Union's support for Lebanon's "stability, unity, integrity and sovereignty," according to a statement from her office.

"Close contacts will continue also with prime minister Hariri, through the EU’s diplomatic channels: High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini expects him and his family to return to Lebanon in the coming days," the statement said.

Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that Hariri must be able to return home from Saudi Arabia to end uncertainty caused by his shock resignation as prime minister.

"What's at stake is Mr Hariri being able to return home freely to clarify his situation in line with the Lebanese constitution," Philippe told parliament, saying his resignation, announced in Saudi Arabia, had caused "a period of uncertainty."

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