BEIRUT: French President Emmanuel Macron said he would welcome Saad Hariri at the Elysee Palace Saturday as Lebanon’s prime minister, as Hariri denied rumors over the circumstances surrounding his two-week stay in Saudi Arabia.

Macron’s remarks came as Hariri and his family were set to leave Saudi Arabia overnight on their way to France for a visit at the French president’s invitation, in a move aimed at defusing a two-week political crisis sparked by the mysterious circumstances surrounding Hariri’s resignation from the premiership in a televised speech from Riyadh on Nov. 4.

Speaking to reporters at the end of an EU summit in Sweden Friday, Macron said he would welcome Hariri in Paris as Lebanon’s premier and expected him to return to Beirut in the “coming days, weeks.”

“I will welcome Hariri as Lebanese prime minister since his resignation has not been accepted in his country because he has not returned to it,” Macron said. He added that Hariri “has the intention, I believe, of going to his country in the next days or weeks.”

Macron’s office said Hariri was expected at the presidential palace by midday Saturday.

Macron said Hariri would be received “with the honors due a prime minister,” because his resignation has not yet been accepted by President Michel Aoun.

The French president said Hariri could stay in Paris for weeks should he choose. “It is an invitation of friendship for discussion and receiving a prime minister of a friendly state,” Macron said.

Since Hariri announced his resignation, which sent shockwaves in Lebanon and the region, Saudi officials and media outlets have been referring to Hariri as “resigned” or “former” prime minister.

Hariri Friday dismissed as “rumors” reports that he was being held against his will in Saudi Arabia, saying in a tweet that his stay in Riyadh was for consultations on Lebanon’s future and its relations with Arab countries.

“My stay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was to hold consultations on the future of the situation in Lebanon and its relations with its Arab environment,” Hariri posted on his Twitter account. “Stories spreading about my stay and departure or that deal with the circumstances of my family are merely rumors.”

Hariri’s prolonged absence has fueled speculation that he was not free to travel, with Aoun going so far as to say he had been “detained.”

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir Thursday rejected Aoun’s accusations, declaring at a joint news conference in Riyadh with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian that Hariri was free to leave the kingdom whenever he wants.Future Movement MP Oqab Saqr said Hariri was set to leave Riyadh with his family Friday bound for Paris, ahead of a meeting with Macron. Saqr told Reuters that Hariri’s visit to France would be followed by a tour of Arab states, before the premier heads back to Beirut.

A source at Rafik Hariri International Airport told The Daily Star that Hariri’s chief of staff, Nader Hariri, left Beirut for Paris via a private jet Friday afternoon.

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk also left Beirut for Paris Friday night to meet Hariri, local media said.

The Elysee Palace said in a statement that Macron would meet Hariri for talks, likely to focus on the political crisis caused by Hariri’s resignation. After receiving Hariri, Macron would meet with Hariri’s family. Later, the French president would host a lunch for Hariri and his family, the statement, carried by the National News Agency, said.

Macron Wednesday extended the invitation for Hariri and his family to visit Paris. Hariri has been in Riyadh – save for a flying visit to Abu Dhabi – since Nov. 3, a day before announced his resignation.

France’s intervention was the latest in a string of European efforts to defuse the tensions over Lebanon fueled by Hariri’s resignation. The resignation came against the backdrop of spiraling tensions between regional rivals, Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are vying for power and influence in the volatile region. The two powers are backing opposing sides in conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who Friday wrapped up a tour of a number of European countries, including Russia, aimed at clarifying Lebanon’s position on Hariri’s resignation and drumming up support for Lebanon’s stability, said he expected the prime minister to be back in Beirut next Friday.

Speaking in Moscow after holding talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Bassil stressed that Hariri’s return to Lebanon was a priority.

“What is required firstly is the return of Prime Minister Hariri to Beirut without restriction of his freedom,” he said. “If Prime Minister Hariri returned to Lebanon freely, we would have closed a chapter of this crisis and Lebanon would have consolidated its sovereignty to world states.”

“We want Hariri to return as soon as possible in order to restore the constitutional institutional path. Prime Minister Hariri is the head of Lebanon’s government,” Bassil added.

Meanwhile, Machnouk praised the rare display of Lebanese unity following Hariri’s resignation.

“The Lebanese have proved their capability to unite and face all crises and foreign interventions,” Machnouk said after meeting Aoun at Baabda Palace. “I came to thank President Aoun personally for his courage, wisdom and ability to administer the crisis and unite the Lebanese over one cause – the return of Prime Minister Saad Hariri.”

Stressing that Lebanon was stable, Machnouk said that Hariri’s expected return to Beirut and his meeting in Paris with Macron would further bolster stability in Lebanon.

But Machnouk stopped short of saying that all was well. “Hariri’s resignation has its political reasons, which should be discussed by senior officials in order to help Lebanon maintain its political stability and security,” he said.

Machnouk said he and Aoun confirmed that parliamentary elections, planned for May next year, would be held on time. “The parliamentary elections will take place on time and this is a democratic duty,” he said.

The Arab League is slated to hold a foreign ministers’ meeting in Cairo Sunday at Saudi Arabia’s urging where the Lebanon crisis and Iran’s intervention in the region are expected to be discussed.