CAIRO: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri briefly stopped Tuesday in Egypt for talks on his way back from France to his country, which is reeling from his surprise resignation amid an escalating regional crisis. Hariri’s visit to Cairo follows two weeks of deep uncertainty after he announced his resignation on November 4 in a speech from Saudi Arabia. Hariri said he and Sisi discussed the need for “distancing oneself from regional policies,” in an apparent reference to the power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran that has played out in his country. In his resignation speech he accused Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival Iran and its powerful Lebanese ally Hezbollah of destabilising his country. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri visits the grave of his father, assassinated former premier Rafik Hariri, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, 21 November 2017.

Source: New Strait Times November 21, 2017 23:15 UTC