In a possible easing of the 12-day crisis over the circumstances surrounding Hariri’s shock resignation, Saad Hariri and his family will within days travel to France from Saudi Arabia upon the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron.
“After speaking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the president has invited Hariri and his family to France,” Reuters quoted a source inside the French presidential palace as saying.
The source added that Hariri will arrive in France “in the coming days” with his family.
In a speech after the news broke, Macron said that he had invited Hariri for “a few days in Paris with his family,” as an act of friendship. He added that the invitation was not an offer of political exile for Hariri.