Moussa to return to Beirut before session to elect president

 

Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Sunday he would return to Beirut next week to carry out mediation efforts ahead of a scheduled House session to elect a new president for Lebanon. “We will sponsor another meeting between March 14 Forces leaders Saad HaririSaad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07  and Amin Gemayel and opposition leader General Michel Aoun when we return back to Beirut on February 24,” Moussa told Future News television.

 

A similar meeting that took place last month failed to end the political standoff as the feuding parties remain at odds over the shape of the next government.

 

Moussa”s efforts are aimed at pushing forward an Arab plan that calls for the election of commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) General Michel Suleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government, and the drafting of a new electoral law for the 2009 parliamentary polls.

 

Asked about the prospects of holding an upcoming Arab summit, scheduled for March in Damascus, before electing a new president in Lebanon, Moussa said: “Lebanon is a founding member of the Arab League and its presence in the summit is as important as the presence of the other members.”

 

Moussa”s assistant, Hisham Youssef told Future News television an Arab summit would not be held without Lebanon.

 

“The situation [in Lebanon] is an urgent one and we should do our best to bridge the gap between both camps,” he added.

 

Meanwhile, Gemayel told LBC television on Sunday that the Arab and international efforts are directed toward ensuring the election of a new president as a first step to be later followed by discussing the remaining disputed issues. He also spoke of Kuwaiti and Jordanian efforts to urge Damascus and Tehran to facilitate the election of Suleiman.

 

Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora started a visit to Kuwait Sunday. He is also expected to head to France and Britain in an effort to brief various officials on the situation in Lebanon.

Hariri”s information office on Sunday said the parliamentary majority leader left Lebanon Saturday night for Saudi Arabia.

 

Meanwhile, diplomats in Riyadh said Saudi Arabia”s King Abdullah is unlikely to attend the Arab summit in Syria next month unless a political deadlock in Lebanon is resolved.

 

“What we have heard is that if there is no president in Lebanon, King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will not go,” said a diplomat.

 

Also on Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern over the situation in Lebanon, calling for a solution to fill the country”s power vacuum. “Efforts to resolve the crisis and the support offered by the international community … bear witness to the intention to appoint  a president who would be recognized by all Lebanese which would form the basis to get over existing divisions,” he said.

 

In another development, former MP Fares Soueid of the March 14 Forces told Voice of Lebanon Radio Sunday that the option of electing a president by simple majority is open again, but said the coalition”s candidate is still Suleiman.