Hariri says resignation on hold, pledges to stay in Lebanon

The decision brings down the temperature after weeks of tensions, and some analysts said it suggested a deal could be in the works to save the consensus government Hariri formed just under a year ago.

“What this is saying, (is) there is still room for backroom discussions and negotiations,” said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre think-tank.

“Hariri would not have agreed to this (otherwise),” she added.

“There’s already some consensus behind it. There’s a deal that is being worked out, we still don’t know what the details are.”

There has been heavy international involvement in the search for a way out of the crisis, with France stepping in to invite Hariri to Paris after weeks of speculation that he was being detained in Riyadh.

Hariri, who holds Saudi citizenship and is closely allied with Riyadh, strongly denied he was being held in the kingdom, but nonetheless accepted the invitation and arrived in Paris on Saturday.

Before continuing to Beirut Tuesday, he stopped for talks in both Egypt and Cyprus, hinting at the various tracks under way to ease tension.

– Hero’s welcome –

“The international community understands that really it’s in no-one’s interest to have one more failed state in this region,” said Yahya.

“Definitely there is an effort to… calm things down a little bit.”

It is unclear whether Hariri’s government, which was formed in late 2016 as part of a deal across political lines, can be saved.

Lebanon has long been riven by tensions between Hariri’s Saudi-backed political bloc and that led by Iran-backed Hezbollah, a stalemate that left the country’s presidency empty for more than two years.

But despite the potential struggles ahead, Hariri appeared relaxed as he first attended a military parade to mark the country’s Independence Day, and then appeared at his Beirut home, where large crowds of supporters had gathered.

As celebratory music played, the crowd chanted “Saad, Saad” and waved the blue flag of his Future Movement party.

“I’m staying with you,” Hariri said, in an emphatic speech delivered at the door of his home in the centre of the capital.

“You are my real family,” he said, before soaking up his newfound popularity with a walkabout near his downtown residence.

Outside his house, 32-year-old Hala waved a blue Future Movement flag enthusiastically.

“He managed to bring Lebanon together,” she told AFP.

“His return is very important, even if there are many things we don’t understand.”