16 November 2017•Update: 17 November 2017
By Ahmed al-Masri and Wassim Saif al-Din
DOHA, Qatar
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Thursday described recent claims by Lebanon’s president that Riyadh was holding resigned Lebanese Premier Saad Hariri against his will as “unacceptable and baseless”.
At a joint press conference in Riyadh held with French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian (who is currently on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia), al-Jubeir stated: “Hariri can leave [Saudi Arabia] whenever he wants based on his assessment of Lebanon’s current security situation.”
On Wednesday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Hariri was being held against his will in Riyadh, from which he abruptly announced his resignation 12 days ago.
“These accusations are baseless,” al-Jubeir said, “especially given the fact that Hariri is a longtime ally of Saudi Arabia.”
Le Drian, for his part, said Hariri had accepted an invitation to visit Paris from French President Emmanuel Macron.
"He will come to France,” Le Drian told reporters, without providing an exact date for the visit.
On Wednesday evening, Macron confirmed that he had invited Hariri to visit the French capital “for a few days with his family".
Macron had gone on to stress, however, that Hariri was "not at all" seeking political asylum in France.
In a statement issued earlier Thursday, Aoun said Hariri and his family would head to France on Saturday -- for a few days of “rest” -- before returning to Lebanon to decide his political fate.
“None of these crises, however, will deter us from holding scheduled parliamentary polls,” Aoun added.
Lebanon’s next parliamentary election is slated to be held in May of next year.
On Nov. 4, Hariri abruptly announced his resignation from the Lebanese premiership in a televised address delivered from Saudi Arabia.
Almost two weeks later, he has yet to return to Lebanon from Riyadh, which had long been considered his chief political patron.
On Wednesday, Hariri -- facing mounting pressure in Lebanon due to his prolonged absence -- said he was "fine", stressing that he would soon return home.
"I want to repeat: I am fine and will return to my beloved Lebanon as promised," Hariri said in a tweet.
Aoun, meanwhile, has yet to formally accept Hariri’s resignation.
