Lebanon's president asserts Hariri will return on Wednesday

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun revealed Saturday that Prime Minister Saad Hariri will return to Lebanon in time for Independence Day on Nov. 22, a statement by the Presidency Media office said.

The statement added that "Hariri called Aoun to confirm that he would return to the country by Nov. 22, shortly after the PM arrived in Paris from Riyadh."

A statement released later by Speaker Nabih Berri's press office reported that Hariri called Berri and stated that he will join the president and the speaker to celebrate Lebanon's independence.

Hariri arrived in Paris with his wife Lara Saturday morning from Riyadh, a statement from Hariri's press office reported, pointing that the PM dismissed Friday as "rumors" reports that he was being held against his will in Saudi Arabia, saying in a tweet that "his stay in Riyadh was for consultations on Lebanon's future and its relations with Arab countries."

Hariri's prolonged absence since his sudden resignation on Nov. 4, which he announced in a televised statement from the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, has fueled speculation that he was not free to travel, with Aoun going so far as to say he had been "detained."

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)