RUSSIA: Lebanese parliamentary majority leader holds talks with Putin in Moscow

As political turmoil continues to grip Lebanon, Saad al-Hariri, majority leader of Lebanon's Parliament, meets Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks on Tuesday (November 20) with Saad al-Hariri, majority leader of Lebanon's Parliament and head of the country's al-Mustaqbal movement. Hariri on a brief visit to Russia, had met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier. As Hariri met Putin at his official residence outside Moscow, Lebanese leaders postponed a presidential election until Friday (November 23) to allow more time to work on a compromise choice for a successor to the pro-Syrian incumbent, whose term expires that day. The delay intensifies a political crisis that could result in two rival administrations and violence in a country still rebuilding from its 1975-1990 civil war. The army boosted security on Tuesday and warned against internal strife. Parliament had been due to convene on Wednesday (November 21) to elect the successor to President Emile Lahoud but a senior political source told Reuters the vote would be delayed, the fourth postponement since September. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key opposition figure, and majority leader Hariri have failed to agree on any of the names for president proposed by the head of the Maronite church. The head of state must be a Maronite, according to the Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system. Political sources say the governing coalition wants parliamentarian Robert Ghanem for the post while the opposition supports former minister Michel Edde.

ITN Source | November 21, 2007

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