Lebanon's Hariri lands in Cairo for talks with Sisi

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri landed in Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi before returning to Lebanon, an AFP correspondent said.

Hariri, who arrived from Paris, set off a political crisis in Lebanon after his shock resignation on 4 November which was announced from Riyadh.

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

He has said he would return to Lebanon by Wednesday.

After quitting he spent two weeks holed up in Riyadh, prompting accusations from political rivals that he was being detained by the Saudis.

In Lebanon, there was a widespread belief he was being held against his will in Riyadh, where a broad consolidation of power and a purge led by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman against dissidents and rival princes is taking place.

Hariri strongly denied he was being held and flew to Paris at the weekend with his family to meet President Emmanuel Macron.

His resignation has not yet been officially accepted by Lebanon's president.

In a statement the Egyptian presidency, which had tried to defuse the crisis, said Hariri would meet Sisi to discuss "developments in Lebanon."