France is considering hosting a meeting for the Lebanon International Support Group

Hariri’s return to settle resignation saga

Nov. 20, 2017

BEIRUT: With Prime Minister Saad Hariri planning to return to Beirut this week, the way will be clear for the next constitutional move to end the two-week Cabinet standoff: Acceptance of the resignation by President Michel Aoun followed by binding parliamentary consultations to either reappoint Hariri as prime minister or name a new candidate.

Prior to his return to Lebanon, Hariri will travel to Egypt Tuesday afternoon for talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, a statement from Hariri’s media office said. A political source denied media reports that Hariri would also visit Kuwait after Egypt,

However, major hurdles lie ahead for either Hariri or a new candidate in forming a new government, given what were described as “tough conditions” set by Saudi Arabia, which clearly call for the expulsion of Hezbollah from any government.

Hariri has called on Hezbollah to end its deep involvement in the 6-year-old war in Syria on the side of President Bashar Assad’s forces as well as its alleged intervention in the Yemeni conflict and in the internal affairs of other Arab Gulf countries.

In addition to Hezbollah’s role in regional conflicts, Cabinet formation in Lebanon is known to take long months as rivals debate the distribution of key ministerial portfolios as well as the government’s policy statement on Hezbollah’s arms and its resistance against Israeli occupation of Lebanese lands.

And with general elections scheduled for early May next year, a senior political source said there would be little enthusiasm to form a new government whose life span would be only a few months or weeks.

In the meantime Hariri’s government would continue to operate in a caretaker capacity.

 “With regard to the political situation in Lebanon, God willing, I will return to Beirut in the coming days and participate in the Independence [Day] celebrations. I will declare my political stance from Lebanon on all issues and after meeting President Michel Aoun,” Hariri told reporters outside the Elysee Palace. “As you know I have resigned and we will talk about this matter in Lebanon.”

Hariri also praised France for its positive role in the region. “I thank President Macron for his support and friendship, which I will never forget,” Hariri wrote in a tweet after leaving the meeting with the French president. “France has once again demonstrated its positive role in the region and the world, and its commitment to Lebanon’s stability.”

In remarks published by Al-Mustaqbal newspaper Sunday, Hariri thanked all the Lebanese who expressed solidarity with and support for him following his resignation. “The Lebanese are worthy of their unity and stability, thank you for the sympathy of all the Lebanese,” he said.

After the meeting, Macron’s office said the president will “continue to take all necessary initiatives for Lebanon’s stability.”

“We are helping to ease tensions in the region,” the Elysee Palace added.

Hariri and his family arrived in France from Riyadh Saturday morning at Macron’s invitation and pulled up to the Elysee Palace courtyard in a convoy before being greeted by the French leader on the steps.

After their meeting, Hariri’s wife, Lara, and his eldest son, Hussam, arrived at the palace to attend a lunch hosted by the French president in Hariri’s honor. Macron’s wife Brigitte also attended the lunch.

It was Hariri’s first public appearance outside Saudi Arabia since he announced his resignation. Hariri has denied reports that he was held against his will in the kingdom, saying in a tweet that his stay in Riyadh was for consultations on Lebanon’s future and its relations with Arab countries.

Reuters news agency quoted a French presidential source as saying that France is considering hosting a meeting for the Lebanon International Support Group. The ISG – bringing together representatives of China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Union and the Arab League – was established in 2013 to help Lebanon’s state institutions and military deal with the influx of refugees from neighboring Syria, as well as with security incidents linked to the Syrian war.

During a phone call Saturday, Macron and Aoun spoke about a return of Hariri to Lebanon that could help make Lebanese institutions “function normally again,” a French presidential official said. Aoun thanked Macron for the efforts he had exerted to defuse the political crisis in Lebanon.

Seeking to calm tensions in the volatile region, Macron telephoned his counterparts in the U.S. and Egypt, Donald Trump and Sisi, as well as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss “the situation in the Middle East.”

Macron and Trump “agreed on the need to work with allies to counter Hezbollah’s and Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region,” according to a White House statement.

Hariri Saturday spoke by telephone with Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri to confirm that he would return to Lebanon to attend the Independence Day celebrations.

Asked to elaborate on his phone conversation with Hariri, Berri told visitors at his Ain al-Tineh residence Sunday: “The contact was short and he reassured me about himself and I congratulated him on his safety. We agreed to talk on other matters when he returns to Beirut and we meet.”

Asked what Hariri might propose regarding his resignation, Berri responded: “I have no confirmed information on what Prime Minister Hariri is carrying. All statements that dealt with his case [his resignation] were an act of soothsaying.”

Hariri, who followed from his Paris residence the Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in Cairo, met Sunday with Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury and some advisers.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah will give a televised speech at 6 p.m. Monday touching on local and regional developments.