Hariri in Riyadh to mend old but shaken fence
RIYADH // Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri held talks with Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman during his first visit to the kingdom since returning to the post in November. The Hariri family’s decades- long ties to the Saudi monarchy cooled last year over financial troubles involving the construction giant led by the billionaire politician. Mr Hariri, who was born in Saudi Arabia, arrived in Riyadh on King Salman’s private plane on Wednesday after they attended an Arab League summit in Jordan, state media said yesterday. He met Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s defence minister, for talks on bilateral relations and developing situations across the Middle East, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Mr Hariri, the son of assassinated former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, last visited the kingdom in April 2015 after King Salman’s accession to the throne. His relations with Riyadh were tested the following year by the woes of Saudi Oger, the construction giant headed by Mr Hariri, which has gone months without paying workers’ salaries.
Saudi Arabia’s ties with Lebanon have become increasingly tense in recent years over Hizbollah’s expanding role in the government and its backing of the Syrian regime.
Last year, Riyadh declared Hizbollah a terrorist organisation and urged its citizens to leave Lebanon.
It also suspended financial aid to the Lebanese army over the rise of Iran-backed Hizbollah. Lebanese president Michel Aoun, an Hizbollah ally, chose Saudi Arabia for his first visit abroad after he took office in October in an attempt to bridge the gap with one of his country’s main financial backers.
The kingdom has always been a main supporter of Mr Hariri’s Sunni community.