Lebanese PM Hariri 'puts resignation on hold'

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said that he is suspending his resignation which he announced two weeks ago from Saudi capital, Riyadh, citing threat to his life.

Hariri said that President Michel Aoun had asked him to "put it on hold ahead of further consultations."

Aoun had said he would not accept Hariri's resignation unless he presented it in person.

The Lebanese President had said at the time Hariri was being held against his will in Riyadh, a claim Hariri denied.

The two men held talks at the presidential palace, a day after Hariri flew back to Beirut.

"Our nation today needs at this sensitive time exceptional efforts from everyone to protect it against danger. We must dissociate from wars, external struggles and regional conflicts," CNN reported Hariri as saying.

Earlier in the day, Hariri attended an Independence Day military parade in Beirut

He finally returned to Beirut late Tuesday (local time), where his first stop was the grave of his slain father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The Lebanese PM eventually paid visit to Paris, Cairo and Cyprus before landing in Beirut.