Lebanon PM says Saudi efforts to continue

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Wednesday an Arab summit would launch no initiative to resolve Lebanon's political crisis but added that Saudi efforts to push the Lebanese toward a compromise would continue.

Lebanon is featuring high on the agenda of the summit of Arab leaders that opened in the Saudi capital Riyadh. There is no end in sight to five-month standoff between Siniora's ruling coalition and the opposition that includes Hezbollah.

The stalemate means Lebanon is represented at the summit by two delegations, one led by Saudi-backed Siniora and another by pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, who supports the opposition.

"I believe the good efforts exerted by the kingdom...are continuing but there is no initiative in the true sense," Siniora, quoted by his media office in a statement, said from Riyadh.

"There is a desire to continue these efforts and to achieve progress in the ongoing dialogue in Lebanon."

Parliamentary majority leader Saad al-Hariri and Nabih Berri, parliament speaker and an opposition leader, held several meetings in Beirut this month at the behest of Saudi Arabia but failed to agree on a compromise.

The opposition has been demanding veto power in an expanded cabinet. The standoff began in November when opposition ministers quit the cabinet and declared it unconstitutional.

The ruling coalition says the opposition campaign aims to derail a U.N.-backed tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Hezbollah and its allies say they have no objection to the court in principle but want to discuss its mandate. The ruling coalition accuses Syria of killing Hariri but Damascus denies any links.

Siniora held talks on Tuesday with Saudi King Abdullah, Siniora's office said. The king also held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the first in several months after ties between the two countries deteriorated over Lebanon.

Officials accompanying Lahoud said mediation by Saudi Arabia and the Arab League led to both Lebanese delegations agreeing on the wording of an article in the summit's final statement in which Arab leaders express backing for Lebanon and the establishment of the Hariri tribunal.