Saudi Envoy with Message from King to Meet Aoun Monday

A Saudi envoy carrying a message from King Salman bin Abdul Aziz will arrive in Beirut on Monday, media reports said.

"Saudi envoy Nizar al-Aloula will arrive in the Lebanese capital tomorrow, carrying a message from Saudi monarch Salman bin Abdul Aziz to President Michel Aoun, who is expected to meet him in the afternoon," a Presidency source told Saudi daily al-Hayat in remarks published Sunday.

Official sources said al-Aloula will also meet with Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday while his talks with Speaker Nabih Berri are scheduled for Tuesday.

"The Saudi embassy in Beirut has also scheduled meetings for a number of Lebanese ministers and leaders with the envoy, who will stay in Lebanon for several days," the sources added.

Ties between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia were strained in the wake of Hariri's November resignation from Riyadh which he has since rescinded. The kingdom was widely seen as having orchestrated the botched move as part of its regional feud with Iran and its Lebanese ally Hizbullah.

Monday's visit comes amid preparations by the Lebanese political forces for the May parliamentary elections.