Jumblat Urges against 'Declaring War' on Saudi Arabia

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Wednesday urged against “declaring war” on Saudi Arabia, amid a political and diplomatic offensive led by President Michel Aoun and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil demanding that Prime Minister Saad Hariri return home from the kingdom.

“What happened with Sheikh Saad Hariri was extraordinary and unusual, and in my opinion the efforts to address the situation should be calm and in accordance to norms,” Jumblat tweeted.

“Hariri will return as he confirmed, but No to declaring war on the kingdom,” Jumblat added.

Hariri will travel to France "in the coming days," a French presidential source said Wednesday, after Aoun accused Saudi Arabia of detaining him following his shock resignation.

International pressure has been mounting for Hariri to return to Beirut after his prolonged stay in the kingdom since he announced in a televised speech from Riyadh on November 4 that he would be stepping down.

The French presidency said Hariri and his family had been "invited" to France after President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone with both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Lebanese prime minister.

Speculation has swirled around the fate of Hariri, who is a Saudi citizen and grew up in the kingdom, with Aoun describing him as a “hostage.”

In his sharply worded resignation from Saudi Arabia, Hariri, 47, accused Iran and its Lebanese ally Hizbullah of destabilizing Lebanon and the broader region.

The statement sparked concern that tiny Lebanon would be caught in the crosshairs of rising tensions between Riyadh and Tehran.

While he was guarded in his first reactions to Hariri's absence, Aoun has since stepped up the rhetoric.

"What happened wasn't a resignation -- it was an attack on Lebanon's independence and dignity," he said Wednesday, adding that Hariri's absence represented "a violation of the international declaration of human rights."

Aoun has yet to formally accept Hariri's resignation and has said he will not do so before meeting him in person in Lebanon.

Bassil has also visited several European capitals over the past two days to press for Hariri's return to Lebanon.

Jumblat's remarks come a few days before an Arab League meeting requested by Riyadh and Bassil is yet to confirm his participation in the talks.

In his first media appearance since he stepped down, Hariri said on Sunday that he had freedom of movement and would return to Lebanon in the coming days.