Hariri to clarify position on return to Lebanon

Lebanon's resigned prime minister Saad al Hariri said on Saturday he would clarify his position when he returns to Beirut next week after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Hariri made a shock resignation announcement on November 4 in Saudia Arabia's capital Riyadh. The announcement threw Lebanon into political crisis and put it centre-stage in the Middle East's overarching rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Hariri has since fended off claims he was being held in Saudi Arabia against his will.

"With regard to the political situation in Lebanon, I will go to Beirut in the coming days, I will participate in the independence celebrations, and it is there that I will make known my position on these subjects after meeting President (Michel) Aoun," Hariri said after holding talks Macron.

Hariri thanked Macron, who has been mediating as part of French efforts to try to ease tensions across the region, for his help.

Macron had leveraged France's close relations with both Lebanon and Saudi Arabia to secure a deal that saw Hariri travel to Paris and open the door to a resolution of the crisis.

The French president has been attempting to help broker a solution to a political crisis that has raised fears over Lebanon's fragile democracy.

TRT World 's Arabella Munro has more on the story.

Hariri to head home on Wednesday

Hariri told Lebanon's President Michel Aoun in a phone call he would be back in Lebanon on Wednesday.

Hariri said he will be present for Independence Day celebrations, Aoun said on Twitter on Saturday.

Before departing for Paris from Riyadh, Hariri in a tweet said: "I am on the way to the airport".

TRT World spoke to journalist Martin Jay in Beirut.

Crisis

Macron said Hariri "intends to return to his country in the coming days, weeks."

The crisis has thrust Lebanon into the bitter rivalry pitting Saudi Arabia and its allies against a bloc led by Iran, which includes the heavily armed Lebanese Hezbollah group.

In Lebanon, Hariri has long been an ally of Riyadh. His coalition government, formed in a political deal last year to end years of paralysis, includes Hezbollah.

Aoun, a political ally of Hezbollah, has called Hariri a Saudi hostage and refused to accept his resignation unless he returns to Lebanon.

TRT World spoke to Beirut-based journalist Nour Samaha.

Saudi Arabia and Hariri say his movements are not restricted. 

On Wednesday, Macron invited Hariri to visit France along with his family, providing what French diplomats said might be a way to reduce tensions surrounding the crisis by demonstrating that Hariri could leave Saudi Arabia.

Lebanese politicians from across the political spectrum have called for Hariri to return to the country, saying it is necessary to resolve the crisis.

Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who heads President Aoun's political party, said on Thursday Beirut could escalate the crisis if Hariri did not return home.

"We have adopted self-restraint so far to arrive at this result so that we don't head towards diplomatic escalation and the other measures available to us," he said during a European tour aimed at building pressure for a solution to the crisis.