Lebanese leaders tackle core issues at Qatar talks

By Nadim Ladki

DOHA (Reuters) - Rival leaders tackled divisive issues at the heart of Lebanon's political crisis on Saturday at Qatari-mediated talks aimed at pulling their country back from the brink of civil war.

Government and opposition leaders left a conference room separately in the morning, after 90 minutes of tense talks on ending a standoff that has paralyzed the government for 18 months and left Lebanon with no president since November.

Delegates said a six-member committee established at that session and asked to create a framework for a new election law had already made progress.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani is holding consultations to bring rival leaders closer to a deal on the framework for a new government.

"The impression, thank God, from the session, shows the desire among all the factions to reach an understanding ... that will bring us to the beginning of a solution to this crisis," Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told Voice of Lebanon radio.

"We have to have faith and trust that we will do the impossible until we find solutions to this difficult stage that Lebanon has faced the past two weeks."

On Thursday, Arab mediators reached a deal to end Lebanon's worst internal fighting since the 1975-1990 civil war and pave the way for the talks hosted by Qatar.

The clashes killed 81 people and worsened sectarian tensions between Shi'ites loyal to Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Druze and Sunni followers of the U.S.-supported ruling coalition.

Washington blames Syria and Iran for Hezbollah's brief seizure of parts of Beirut last week which forced the government to rescind two decisions that had triggered the escalation.

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Saturday the United States would stand by Siniora's government against Hezbollah and accused "radical elements" of trying to undermine democracy.

"It's a defining moment," he told reporters on a visit to Sharm el-Sheikh.

The opposition has demanded more say in a cabinet controlled by factions opposed to Syrian influence in Lebanon.

The ruling coalition's refusal to yield to the opposition's demand for veto power in cabinet triggered the resignation of all Shi'ite ministers in November 2006, crippling a political system build around the delicate sectarian balance.

Power-sharing in a new government and the basis of an election law are the core issues on the agenda. The ruling coalition also raised the matter of Hezbollah's weapons after the anti-Israel group turned its guns against political rivals.

Bush said Hezbollah had abused its position. "It is clear that Hezbollah, which has been funded by Iran, can no longer justify its position as a defender against Israel when it turns on its own people," he said.