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Berri Wins Egypt's Support for Mediation in Beirut-Damascus Spat

Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri asked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for Arab help in defusing the simmering crisis between Beirut and its former powerbroker Syria.
"The aim of my visit to Cairo is to seek an Arab mediation that would ensure the implementation of decisions" reached during Lebanon's protracted political roundtable talks, Berri told reporters after meeting Mubarak Saturday.

At Berri's initiative, Lebanese politicians -- Christian and Muslim, pro- and anti-Syrian -- have been holding talks since March in a bid to break a political deadlock since the February 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri.

Berri said he had received "a very positive response" from Mubarak and informed the Egyptian president of the latest developments in Lebanon's rocky political consultations.

Lebanese officials have frequently visited Egypt in the past year and Berri later met Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa for discussions that focused on tensions with Syria.

"The Arab League is fully ready to exert every possible effort in the service of this file," Mussa told reporters after the meeting.

"What's important to us is that relations between Syria and Lebanon should be exemplary. There are foundations for relations to be as excellent as they were over the past decades," the Arab League chief said.

"Arab efforts will continue and resume forcefully at the right time," he promised. He also said that he was prepared to travel to Syria and Lebanon "at the right time to discuss these matters."

Hariri's killing was widely blamed on the regime in Damascus, which dominated Lebanese politics for three decades. Syria has denied any involvement.

The ensuing crisis led to last year's withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanese soil, but anti-Syrian parties charge that Damascus is still interfering behind the scenes and continues to destabilize Lebanon.(AFP)

Beirut, 10 Jun 06, 10:51


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