By Xinhua
Beirut : Local and Arab efforts to find a way out of Lebanon’s political crisis have come to a standstill, local An Nahar daily reported Thursday.
The report said it did not expect any move aimed at solving the deadlock between Lebanon’s majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition before the parliamentary session to elect a new president scheduled for April 22.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is not planning to launch a national dialogue pending talks with Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who has been mandated by the Arab League to continue his efforts to implement the three-point Arab plan aimed at solving Lebanon’s presidential crisis, said the report.
The three-point plan calls for immediately electing Lebanese Army Commander General Michel Suleiman as Lebanese president and proceeding to forming a government of national unity and drafting a new electoral law.
Berri had said he would launch talks among Lebanese politicians if the Arab summit failed to find a solution to the country’s protracted crisis.
But Moussa doesn’t intend to return to Beirut before April 22 as he would be engaged in holding consultations with Arab leaders after the Arab Summit, when ended last Sunday, according to the report.
As for Premier Fouad Seniora’s planned tour of Arab countries, the report said no dates have been set yet although the PM confirmed that he is making contacts in this regard.
Seniora has called for an urgent Arab foreign ministers meeting to discuss strained Lebanese-Syrian relations.
Lebanon is currently facing the most serious political deadlock since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. For the first time in its history, the presidential seat has been vacant since Nov. 24 of 2007 when former President Emile Lahoud stepped down.
A long-awaited parliamentary session to elect a new president to succeed Lahoud has been postponed for the 17th time from March 25 to April 22.
The presidency deadlock deepened the Lebanese political crisis as fears are mounting that failure in reaching a deal on the presidential candidate could result in more violence in the country.