BEIRUT – Lebanese President Michael Suleiman is pressing for all-party talks on forming a new government amid US pressure for assurances the country will be free of Syria's influence, his office said Wednesday. Lebanon has been in crisis since Friday, when police intelligence chief General Wissam Al-Hassan was killed in a Beirut car bombing blamed on Damascus, and opposition leaders have demanded Prime Minister Najib Mikati's resignation. A high-ranking official said Suleiman “has begun consultations with the leading figures of the country, in the context of the national dialogue, to discuss the possibility of forming a new government.” He said that if the envisaged dialogue “were to result in agreement on the form of a new government that can pull Lebanon out of its impasse, then Mikati could present his resignation and the process of forming the government could begin.” Mikati said Saturday he had accepted Suleiman's request to stay on for the time being in the “national interest.” Suleiman is now canvassing political leaders to assess whether they are prepared to join a dialogue. The principal opposition March 14 coalition led by former premier Saad Hariri has already said it will not participate in any dialogue until Mikati resigns. March 14 Secretary General Fares Soueid said Wednesday that Mikati must go. “This government and the parties supporting it are facilitating the plan of the criminal Assad regime in Lebanon,” a reference to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Suleiman has also spoken with Hezbollah and MP Mohammed Raad told him they are prepared to talk. And he met with Amin Gemayel, head of the opposition rightwing Falange movement, who was non-committal, officials said. The United States and the European Union, both anxious to ward off any further Syrian interference in Lebanon, have separately warned against creating a political vacuum. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday the “export of instability from Syria threatens the security of Lebanon now more than ever, and it's really up to the Lebanese people to choose a government that is going to counter this threat.” And EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, without pointing a finger, said Tuesday that “there are some who are trying to divert attention from the situation in the region by causing problems in Lebanon.” – Agencies
