By Xinhua
Cairo : Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa left for Beirut on Sunday to continue the efforts to help resolve the current political crisis in Lebanon. Moussa’s visit, which was originally slated for Friday, came two days before the election of a new Lebanese president scheduled for Feb. 26 if an agreement is to be reached between Lebanese political groups.
“We will not leave Lebanon in the current situation,” Moussa said right before his departure, adding “We will not give up (efforts to help resolve the Lebanese crisis).”
Answering the question on the new difficulties he faces, Moussa said “we must overcome the new obstacles.”
Moussa is expected to gather Lebanese leaders from the majority and the opposition for the third time in a bid to reach an agreement that could facilitate the election of a new president scheduled for Feb. 26.
The Lebanese opposition is determined to reach an agreement that would give them veto power in the new government before electing a new president, a demand that the majority repeatedly rejected.
Moussa said he would talk with Lebanese leaders on the basis of the points they had agreed and narrow the gaps between Lebanese warring groups.
The AL chief also said the solution of the Lebanese crisis would create good atmosphere for the upcoming Arab summit in Syriain late March.
Moussa has failed so far in convincing the two Lebanese parties to accept an Arab plan which was endorsed in Cairo on Jan. 6. The three-point plan aimed at 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.
Lebanese presidential seat has been vacant since former president Emile Lahoud ended his term on Nov. 24, and the sharply divided Lebanese parliament has delayed the elections for 14 times without a consensus.