French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Thursday he was cautiously optimistic of a possible way to end the political deadlock in Lebanon, according to DPA. Kouchner, who arrived earlier Thursday in the Lebanese capital Beirut, came with the aim of encouraging dialogue among the feuding political parties. "Everyone stands to gain if Lebanon is sovereign and independent," Kouchner said in a televised interview with Lebanese media after meeting parliament speaker Nabih Berri - a key opposition leader - and the Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Seniora. The French minister insisted that it was up to the Lebanese to work to end this political deadlock. "I am not asking the Lebanese to love each other, but the Lebanese need to understand that their future and the country's lies in their hands," he said. He added that the positive gestures he sensed from the Lebanese officials gave him hope: "I have a feeling that things are going to work out."
