Tillerson to meet Lebanon's Hariri in Paris on Friday

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri speaks during a press conference in Cairo, Egypt on 21 November 2017 [Presidency of Egypt/Anadolu Agency]

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in Paris on Friday, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday.

The two will meet during a ministerial meeting of the International Lebanon Support Group, a body that includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Where is Hariri? Saudi Arabia, Lebanon – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Hariri rescinded his resignation on Tuesday, drawing a line under a month-long crisis triggered when he announced from Riyadh that he was stepping down and remained outside Lebanon for weeks. His coalition government, which includes the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, reaffirmed a state policy of staying out of conflicts in Arab states.

The State Department statement said Tillerson would encourage the Lebanese government and other nations to “move more aggressively” in limiting Hezbollah’s “destabilizing activity in the region.”

Read: US’s Tillerson speaks to Saudi counterpart about arrests in kingdom

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