CAIRO: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri stopped in Egypt for talks on Tuesday on his way back from France to his country, which is reeling from his surprise resignation amid an escalating regional crisis.

Minutes after Hariri landed in Cairo, small groups of supporters took to the streets of central Beirut in noisy convoys, honking, cheering and waving flags with the colours of the premier’s Future Movement.

Hariri’s visit to Cairo follows two weeks of deep uncertainty after he announced his resignation on Nov 4 in a speech from Saudi Arabia. He has said he will return to Lebanon by Wednesday (today).

A message on Hariri’s Twitter account said he would meet and then dine with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has sought to defuse the tensions between Hariri’s sponsors in Saudi Arabia and the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons.

Sisi’s office said he received a phone call from Lebanese President Michel Aoun in which they discussed “the importance of preserving Lebanon’s stability and elevating Lebanon’s national interests”.

Hariri’s failure to return to Lebanon since his resignation sparked rumours he was being held in Riyadh against his will, which both he and Saudi officials have denied.

Speaking after talks in Paris on Saturday with French President Emmanuel Macron, who is also seeking to broker a way out of the crisis, Hariri said he would “make known my position” once back in Beirut.

Hariri’s mysterious decision to step down — which Aoun has refused to accept while he remains abroad — has raised fears over Leba­non’s fragile democracy.

In his resignation speech he accused Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival Iran and its powerful Lebanese ally Hezbollah of destabilising his country.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2017