BEIRUT (AP) - Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who plunged the country into crisis with his surprise resignation during a trip to Saudi Arabia, said in a tweet Tuesday that he will return home in the next two days but his family will remain in the kingdom.
Lebanon's foreign minister meanwhile said during a trip to Paris that his country may resort international law to determine Hariri's condition, suggesting he is being held against his will, if he doesn't return to Lebanon.
It was Hariri's first personal tweet since he announced his resignation Nov. 4 in a pre-recorded message during a trip to Saudi Arabia. Previous tweets since his resignation consisted of official pictures and press releases.
"People, I am fine. And God willing I will come back in two days. Can we chill?" Hariri wrote.
His surprise resignation and then his scarce communication led many Lebanese to speculate he was being held against his will and stripped of his phone despite Saudi denials. A live interview Sunday with a Lebanese TV station affiliated with his political party did little to dispel such fears.
On Tuesday, Hariri met with the Lebanese Maronite Patriarch, who visited Saudi Arabia, the first publicized meeting with a Lebanese official. However, there were no TV cameras allowed into the meeting and only photos of the encounter were released.
President Michel Aoun has refused to accept Hariri's resignation and urged him to come home. Hezbollah and other rivals have suggested Hariri's Saudi patrons forced him to resign to wreck the coalition government. The coalition government includes the Iran-backed Hezbollah.