Lebanon PM denies being held hostage; to fly to France
BEIRUT: France said on Wednesday that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad alHariri, who Lebanon’s president says is being held hostage by Saudi Arabia, would visit France with his family in coming days.
Hariri travelled to Riyadh on November 3 before abruptly resigning in a televised statement a day later. He has stayed in Riyadh and top Lebanese officials and senior politicians close to Hariri claim he was forced to quit.
Hariri and Saudi Arabia have both denied he is being held in Riyadh or was coerced to resign. Hariri has said he will return to Lebanon in the next few days to formally submit his resignation.
The crisis has thrust Lebanon onto the frontline of a Middle East contest for power pitting a Saudiled bloc against Iran and its allies, including the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement that he had invited Hariri to France after speaking to him and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The invitation is to visit for a few days and is not an offer of political exile, Macron said, speaking in Germany.
‘‘We will not accept (Hariri) remaining a hostage whose reason for detention we do not know,’’ Lebanese President Michel Aoun said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia has long been considered Hariri’s main external supporter. Aoun is a political ally of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a powerful Shi’ite Muslim group with close ties to Iran.
Lebanon’s coalition government was formed last year through a political deal that made Aoun president, Hariri prime minister, and included members of Hezbollah in the cabinet.
Saudi Arabia last week accused Lebanon of having declared war on it because of Hezbollah’s role in other Arab countries. It regards Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.
Riyadh’s main ally, the United States, has struck a different tone, continuing its support for Lebanon including military aid. The European Union has also repeatedly stated its support for Lebanon, which hosts 1.5 mil lion Syrian refugees.
In an interview on Sunday night with a television station he owns, Hariri warned of economic sanctions against Lebanon and of a threat to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese workers living in Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies.
‘‘Nothing justifies Hariri’s lack of return for 12 days. We therefore consider him detained,’’ Aoun said.
He added that Lebanon had confirmed that Hariri’s family were under detention in their house in Saudi Arabia and were searched whenever they entered or left it. — Reuters