Qatari mediators intervene to salvage Lebanon talks

By Nadim Ladki

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatari-led Arab mediators stepped up efforts to salvage talks aimed at ending Lebanon's crisis on Monday after negotiations between the U.S.-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition suffered a setback.

Rival leaders appeared back at square one on the fourth day of intense bargaining in Doha but mediators managed to get the talks going and maintained hope that a deal could still be reached to pull Lebanon back from the brink of a civil strife.

"We won't leave here without a deal," Saad al-Hariri, leader of the ruling coalition told reporters.

The Arab League intervened last week to end Lebanon's worst domestic fighting since the 1975-1990 civil war and pave the way for the Doha talks to end an 18-month-old crisis.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani held fresh rounds of talks with both camps well into the night. He had made proposals on Sunday on power-sharing in a new government and the rivals had been expected to hammer out a compromise over a new election law on Monday.

Agreement on these points would pave the way for parliament to elect army commander General Michel Suleiman as president, a post that has been vacant since November.

But a statement issued by opposition leaders after a meeting on Monday was short on detail and restated existing demands, disappointing the ruling camp and casting a pall over talks.

But Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani joined his prime minister and eight Arab League foreign ministers in trying to come up with new proposals.

While the latest discussions were still deadlocked over the division of Beirut's electoral constituencies -- the bedrock of support for Hariri -- there was no agreement on power-sharing in a new government.

An opposition delegate said Hezbollah had rejected an offer for veto power in a new government in return for concessions on the electoral law. Government loyalists, while recognizing need for concessions, said the talks focused on the whole package.

Electoral divisions in any law are seen fundamental to the outcome of parliamentary polls in 2009. "The law and its divisions determines who rules Lebanon for the next four years," one delegate said.

The mediators held extensive talks with both camps throughout the day but no breakthrough was reached.

"Everyone feels that if the talks continue for longer that means we go into diversions ... and that there are those who don't want to reach a deal," Ahmed Fatfat, a member of the U.S.-backed ruling coalition, told LBC television.

MILITARY MIGHT

Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah used its military muscle this month to thwart a government attempt to limit its power, briefly seizing parts of Beirut in fighting that killed 81 people.