Lebanon president urges unity after PM Hariri quits, toppling coalition of sectarian groups
BEIRUT - Lebanon's president appealed for national unity on Monday after Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri quit in a broadcast from Saudi Arabia, toppling the country's coalition government that grouped the country's main sectarian factions.
Michel Aoun convened a meeting with ministers and top security officials at Baabda palace, telling them that political leaders had been responsive to calls for calm, his office said.
"He stressed that security, economic, financial, and political stability is a red line," Justice Minister Salim Jreissati said after the meeting.
Aoun will take no steps to decide on whether to accept the resignation before Hariri returns from abroad, said Jreissati, who is politically aligned with Hezbollah.
"The president is waiting for Hariri's return to hear from him personally," he said. "This indicates a sovereign vision... and that the resignation must be voluntary in every sense."
