Moussa leaves Beirut without breakthrough

Source: alalam.ir, 12-01-2008
BEIRUT, Lebanon-Arab League chief Amr Mussa will leave Lebanon without making any progress in his bid to forge a deal between feuding parties on electing army commander General Michel Suleiman.
Mussa, who is scheduled to return to Lebanon on January 16, described on Friday the situation in the country as "very dangerous", saying that the ground is not rife yet to fill the vacant post. Mussa said the problem facing implementation of the Arab initiative "is deeper and wider" than just arranging a meeting between representatives of the opposition and the majority.
He made the remark in answering a question as to whether the problem facing his mission to promote the initiative lied in failing to arrange a meeting between opposition leader Michel Aoun and Saad Hariri who represents the March 14 majority alliance.
Mussa denied reports by pro-opposition media that a proposed meeting between Aoun and Hariri was blocked.
After talks with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Mussa told reporters: "We cannot say that there has been agreement on something and it was blocked. This is not accurate."
Asked to comment on obstacles facing his mission, Mussa said: "There are differences in viewpoints ... Lebanon's problem is heavy and requires enough time to tackle it."
However, he said: "I haven't spent all the time in vain. There is no final agreement, there are points of rapprochement and points that are far apart, which are being discussed."
Mussa, who arrived in Beirut on Wednesday, has held talks with leaders of the various political factions in Lebanon in an effort to promote the Arab initiative that calls for General Michel Suleiman's election.
A parliamentary session, originally scheduled for Saturday to elect a head of state, was postponed to January 21 in an apparent effort to give Mussa time to work out a deal.