including from Lebanon´s president, who refused to accept his resignation from abroad.
Hariri´s resignation was widely seen as an escalation of the battle for influence between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran, regional arch-rivals which back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. His attempt to step down also coincides with a purge of more than 200 Saudi princes, ministers and businessmen. Hariri met French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Riyadh on Thursday as Paris, which held mandate power over Lebanon for the first half of the 20th century, seeks to ease the crisis. In another development, Riyadh on Saturday recalled its ambassador to Berlin in protest at comments by Germany´s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel which were interpreted as a suggestion that Hariri acted under Saudi orders. Without mentioning Saudi Arabia directly, Gabriel had said Thursday that he shared concerns about the threat of instability and bloodshed in Lebanon and warned against “adventurism”.
“Lebanon has earned the right to decide on its fate by itself and not become a pinball of Syria or Saudi Arabia or other national interests,” he had said earlier in the week. Germany´s foreign ministry had yet to comment on the row, but in a statement it welcomed Hariri´s “imminent return to Lebanon”. - ´Start of a solution´ - Ahead of Hariri´s departure, Aoun — an ally of Hezbollah — welcomed the trip to Paris, expressing hope that it was the “start of a solution”. “If Mr. Hariri speaks from France, I would consider that he speaks freely,” Aoun said. “But his resignation must be presented in Lebanon, and he will have to remain there until the formation of the new government.” France´s intervention was the latest in a string of European efforts to defuse tensions over Lebanon, where divisions between Hariri´s Sunni bloc and Shiite Hezbollah have long been a focal point in a broader struggle between Riyadh and Tehran.