Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun says Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who recently walked back on his shock resignation, will “certainly” remain in office.
During a visit to Rome on Wednesday, Aoun told the Italian daily La Stampa that the political crisis in Lebanon triggered by Hariri’s November 4 departure announcement will be “resolved definitively in a few days.”
“We have just finished deliberations with all the political forces in the country. There is a wide agreement,” the Lebanese president said.
Hariri told French broadcaster CNews on Monday that he would stay on as prime minister if Hezbollah “accepted to stick by the state policy of staying out of regional conflicts.”
Asked about that Hariri’s comments, Aoun said the Lebanese resistance movement has fought against Daesh terrorists both in Lebanon and abroad, adding, however, “when the war against terrorism is finished, their fighters will come back to the country.”
Hariri announced his resignation in a televised announcement broadcast from the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Senior sources close to Hariri and top Lebanese officials said Saudi Arabia had coerced the Lebanese premier into stepping down and put him under house arrest. Aoun refused to accept Hariri’s resignation, stressing that he was being detained in Saudi Arabia against his will.
After a nearly three-week absence, Hariri returned to Lebanon on November 22 and put his resignation on hold at Aoun’s request to allow for more consultations on the issue.