The French President’s office said on November 16 that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has accepted an invitation to come to France after his surprise resignation from Saudi Arabia nearly two weeks ago that stunned Lebanon and rattled the region.
An official in President Emmanuel Macron’s office said Mr. Hariri is expected in France in the coming days. The official was not authorised to be publicly named.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun tweeted on November 16 that he hoped the country's political crisis was over following Mr. Hariri's acceptance of a French invitation to visit Paris.
Earlier a source close to Mr. Hariri said the Prime Minister, who resigned this month while in Saudi Arabia but has yet to return to Beirut, was expected to leave Riyadh for France within the next 48 hours.
Mr. Aoun said Lebanon remained committed to its policy of staying out of regional conflicts, especially those between Arab states, presidential sources said on November 16.
In his strongest statements yet about the crisis, Mr. Aoun accused Saudi Arabia of “detaining” Mr. Hariri, saying there was no reason for the Prime Minister not to return to Lebanon.
France, Lebanon’s one-time colonial ruler, has been trying to mediate in the crisis. On November 15, Mr. Macron invited Hariri and his family to come to France, apparently as a way to put an end to allegations that the Prime Minister is being held against his will.
The resignation of the Saudi-backed Mr. Hariri stunned Lebanon, throwing its government into turmoil. It was a reflection of the deepening feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran for influence in the region.
On November 15, the front page of the daily Lebanese Al-Akhbar boasted: Saudi loses, hailing the French for their proposal to end the deadlock.
The announcement that Mr. Hariri will head to France came after French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met in Saudi Arabia with Mr. Hariri, the Saudi crown prince and the Saudi king.
