France says Lebanon meeting put back to mid: July

PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it had pushed back to mid-July an informal meeting of Lebanon's main political parties and civil society that aimed to help break the country's political deadlock.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said trips abroad by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, a visit to Paris next week by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and events on the ground in Lebanon had led to the meeting being delayed from late June.

"For all these reasons we decided to pick a date that would allow us to prepare the meeting well," the spokesman said.

The Lebanese army and the al Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam group have been fighting for more than a month at the Nahr al-Bared camp in north Lebanon. The clashes have killed at least 75 soldiers, 59 militants and 30 civilians.

France has billed the meeting on its former protectorate as a chance to renew dialogue between all the Lebanese parties, but does not expect firm decisions to emerge.

Lebanon was plunged into its worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war last November, when opposition ministers quit the Siniora cabinet after the ruling majority refused opposition demands for veto power.

The majority accused the opposition, made up mainly of Christian and pro-Syrian Shi'ite Muslim factions, of trying to block passage of an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 killing of ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri.

Pro-government leaders say Syria was behind Hariri's assassination. Damascus denies any hand in it.