{"id":1650,"date":"2017-11-10T06:22:03","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T07:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madaresharghi.com\/macron-in-saudi-arabia-for-questions-as-hariri-remains-in-shadows\/"},"modified":"2017-11-10T06:22:03","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T07:22:03","slug":"macron-in-saudi-arabia-for-questions-as-hariri-remains-in-shadows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madaresharghi.ir\/en\/macron-in-saudi-arabia-for-questions-as-hariri-remains-in-shadows\/","title":{"rendered":"Macron in Saudi Arabia for \u2018questions\u2019 as Hariri remains in shadows"},"content":{"rendered":"

madaresharghi<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Saudi Arabia for hastily scheduled talks with the kingdom\u2019s leaders about a puzzling political crisis involving Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned from his job in a live broadcast from Riyadh, where he is claimed to be held against his will.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tOn his debut visit to the kingdom, Macron landed in Riyadh on Thursday night and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud who welcomed him at the airport, presstv.ir reported.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe French head of state announced the surprise visit at a press conference in Dubai earlier in the day, wrapping up a two-day stop in the United Arab Emirates on his debut Middle East tour.<\/p>\n

\n\tMacron said he wanted to discuss \u201cregional questions\u201d with the ambitious Saudi crown prince and \u201cemphasize the importance of Lebanese stability and integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMy wish is that all Lebanese political officials live freely in Lebanon… which means having a very demanding stance on those who could threaten any leader,\u201d the French president said, ostensibly referring to Hariri\u2019s claim that he could not return to Lebanon because his life was in danger there.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Lebanese PM said in his resignation statement on Saturday that the post was no longer tenable for him due to what he called intervention by Lebanese resistant movement Hezbollah and Iran.<\/p>\n

\n\tLebanese officials believe Hariri is under house arrest and Saudis have forced him to resign in order to wreck his government, which is on good terms with Hezbollah and Tehran. Two anonymous US officials told Reuters that the Saudis had indeed \u201cencouraged\u201d Hariri to leave office.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s speculation that Hariri is being held among scores of princes, officials and prominent businessmen detained by the Saudi authorities in Salman\u2019s apparent attempt to purge dissent before taking power.<\/p>\n

\n\tMacron, whose country maintains close ties with Lebanon as a former colony, admitted that he had informal contacts with Hariri but denied speculations that he was in the kingdom to negotiate the Lebanese official\u2019s transfer to France.<\/p>\n

\n\tTwo French diplomats told Reuters that they were not aware of any plans to bring Hariri to France.<\/p>\n

\n\tHowever, an unnamed Lebanese official confirmed Thursday that the country had already asked \u201cforeign and Arab states\u201d to return Hariri to Beirut.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHariri\u2019s whereabouts<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the five days that have passed since Hariri\u2019s strange resignation, his status and whereabouts have been the subject of heated speculation.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile his closest allies in the Future Movement Party have been desperately asking for his return, Hariri\u2019s aides say they have hardly spoken to him.<\/p>\n

\n\tHariri’s party says he still PM, urges him to return<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Tuesday, a day before Macron\u2019s visit to the UAE, Hariri was seen in the Persian Gulf country, which is also a close ally of Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to the Emirates News Agency, there, Hariri even met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who, strangely enough, wished the newly-resigned premier \u201call the success in his endeavors to ensure Lebanon overcomes its ordeals and achieves the aspirations of the Lebanese people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHariri returned to Riyadh on Wednesday, according to his own office, where he met with diplomats from the United States, Britain and the European Union at his \u201cresidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tInterestingly, Hariri met with the French ambassador on Thursday, before Macron\u2019s visit to Riyadh was announced.<\/p>\n

\n\tWestern diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The New York Times that all of the envoys who met the Lebanese PM came away with the impression that he could not speak freely.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, Saudi Arabia has urged all of its citizens to leave Lebanon, a move followed by the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

madaresharghi French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Saudi Arabia for hastily scheduled talks with the kingdom\u2019s leaders about a puzzling political crisis involving Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned from his job in a live broadcast from Riyadh, where he is claimed to be held against his will. On his debut visit to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[296,118,28,31,159,639,178,56,213,84,95,82,68,22,23,27],"yoast_head":"\nMacron in Saudi Arabia for \u2018questions\u2019 as Hariri remains in shadows - madaresharghi | An Analytical Look at Middle Eastern Developments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/madaresharghi.ir\/en\/macron-in-saudi-arabia-for-questions-as-hariri-remains-in-shadows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Macron in Saudi Arabia for \u2018questions\u2019 as Hariri remains in shadows - madaresharghi | An Analytical Look at Middle Eastern Developments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"madaresharghi French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Saudi Arabia for hastily scheduled talks with the kingdom\u2019s leaders about a puzzling political crisis involving Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned from his job in a live broadcast from Riyadh, where he is claimed to be held against his will. 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