Hariri changes mind on quitting
LEBANON: Lebanon’s returned prime minister has announced that he is withdrawing the resignation he made while in Saudi Arabia more than two weeks ago, easing a political crisis in the country.
After 17 days away, Saad Hariri landed back in Beirut just before midnight on Tuesday, local time, just in time for Lebanon’s independence day celebrations.
President Michel Aoun had said he would not accept the resignation, made somewhat suspiciously by Hariri while he was in Riyadh. The president told Hariri he would have to tender it in person, saying he believed he was coerced by his Saudi backers.
After a meeting between the two, Hariri declared he was postponing his decision pending talks.
‘‘I presented today my resignation to President Aoun and he urged me to wait before offering it and to hold on to it for more dialogue about its reasons and political background, and I showed responsiveness,’’ Hariri said in his surprisingly conciliatory remarks.
Hariri, a dual Saudi citizen who has enjoyed Riyadh’s backing, addressed hundreds of supporters of his party, Future Movement, gathered outside his residence in Beirut.
‘‘I’m staying with you, I will continue with you ... to be a line of defence for Lebanon, Lebanon’s stability and Lebanon’s Arabism,’’ he told the crowd.
Questions remain over whether he will yet step down, a move almost sure to bring down the government.
Hariri announced his resignation in a televised address from Saudi Arabia on November 4, stunning the nation and plunging the country into turmoil. He had been silent since.
It had been seen by many as the first step in an unprecedented Saudi intervention, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the opening up of a new front in its proxy war with regional rival Iran.