Qatari, Turkish officials in Beirut for crisis talks - Summary

Tue, 18 Jan 2011

Beirut - Qatar's prime minister and the Turkish foreign minister Tuesday held talks in Beirut with Lebanese officials in an effort aimed at solving Lebanon's latest political crisis.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Bin Jaber al-Thani and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made no comments after their meetings with various officials. But a government source told the German Press Agency dpa that both leaders were on a "tough mission to Lebanon."

"The deep rifts among the Lebanese leaders will make the talks harder on both Qatari and Turkish officials," the source said.

Both met with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, House Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker premier Saad Hariri.

"There are some complexities, but issues are being discussed," a source close to Berri said.

He said that Turkish and Qatari officials might ask the country's leaders to postpone parliamentary consultations on the prime ministerial nomination until the current impasse is resolved.

Al Thani and Davutoglu were also to meet later Tuesday with Hezbollah leaders.

Lebanon plunged into a political crisis after Hezbollah and its allies walked out of the unity coalition government on January 12.

Suleiman was to start consultations with the various parliamentary blocs on Monday, but this has been postponed to January 24-25, to pave the way for regional leaders to intervene and ease tensions in Lebanon.

Al-Thani and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday attended a mini-summit in Damascus where they met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The three agreed to back efforts by Damascus and Riyadh to end the political impasse in Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia and Syria have for months been seeking to solve the Lebanese political crisis, which erupted over disagreements regarding a United Nations tribunal's probe into the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Tensions have been high in Lebanon amid reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), based in The Hague, would indict members of Hezbollah. The group had threatened to "cut the hands of anyone" who accused its members of involvement in the Hariri assassination.

The STL submitted its indictment on Monday, but its contents - including who was named - remain confidential while a pre-trial judge reviews the documents.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/362968,crisis-talks-summary.html.