Hariri free to leave Riyadh 'when he pleases': Saudi FM
Hariri
'These are false allegations. The accusation that Saudi Arabia is detaining a prime minister, and particularly a political figure who is an ally... is untrue,' Adel-al Jubeir said
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is free to leave Riyadh "when he pleases," the Saudi foreign minister said on Thursday, rejecting accusations from Beirut that the kingdom was "detaining" him.
Hariri, who announced his shock resignation from Saudi Arabia on November 4, is living in the kingdom "of his own free will" and free to leave "when he pleases", Adel al-Jubeir told a press conference in Riyadh.
"These are false allegations. The accusation that Saudi Arabia is detaining a prime minister, and particularly a political figure who is an ally... is untrue," Jubeir said.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun had accused Saudi Arabia on Wednesday of detaining Hariri after what he said was his failure to return home for 12 days.
But on Thursday, Aoun said the announcement that Hariri would travel to France for talks with President Emmanuel Macron could be "the start of a solution".
Hariri meets French FM in Riyadh
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Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri met the French foreign minister in Riyadh on Thursday, the most senior Western official he has met publicly since his shock resignation announcement earlier this month.
The meeting came after Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that Hariri had accepted an invitation to visit France for talks with President Emmanuel Macron.
Asked when his visit would take place, Hariri replied: "I would rather not answer that right now."
Le Drian's visit to Saudi Arabia has been dominated by the political crisis in Lebanon sparked by Hariri's resignation.