LEBANON: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner continues meetings with Lebanese leaders to reach a deal on choosing a new president

France's foreign minister Bernard Kouchner continued his meetings with Lebanese leaders on Wednesday (December 5) to foster a deal between them on electing the country's army chief as president. Kouchner led previous European mediation efforts to forge agreement between the anti-Syrian governing coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition, backed by Damascus. But he failed to broker a deal before the presidency became vacant on November 23, when the term of pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud ended. Rival Lebanese leaders have since nominated General Michel Suleiman, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander, as the candidate to fill the post. An agreement would defuse a power struggle that has paralysed Lebanon for more than a year and triggered the country's worst internal strife since the 1975-1990 civil war. Kouchner met Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday. On Tuesday (December 4) he met Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and anti-Syrian parliament majority leader Saad Hariri. Parliament has been convened for Friday (December 7), but political sources say the vote may be delayed for some days. A deal would defuse a power struggle that has paralysed Lebanon for more than a year and triggered the worst internal strife since the 1975-1990 civil war. Suleiman, 59, assumed his post in 1998 when Syria still controlled Lebanon. He has good ties with Hezbollah. The governing coalition has worked to try to curb Syria's influence since it was forced to withdraw troops from Lebanon in 2005. It had hoped to replace Lahoud, a close Damascus ally, with one of its own. The current crisis erupted in November 2006 when opposition ministers quit the government of Siniora over demands for veto power. The crisis spiralled led to deadly sectarian clashes earlier this year.

ITN Source | December 5, 2007

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