European envoys seek to diffuse Lebanese crisis in upcoming trip
October 14, 2007
Spanish, French and Italian foreign ministers will visit Lebanon next week in an effort to diffuse the current political deadlock, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos announced Saturday.
The visit takes place “at an important time in the internal debate in Lebanon,” Moratinos told Spain’s Cadena Ser radio station.
“There are presidential elections and we want to meet all the political forces to obtain national reconciliation and look for a solution to the crisis that continues to affect the country’s stability.”
Moratinos, along with his counterparts — France’s Bernard Kouchner and Italy’s Massimo D’Alema — will visit Lebanon on Friday and Saturday, a Spanish diplomatic source told AFP.
The Middle Eastern country is mired in a political standoff, with bickering parties unable to agree on a successor to Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud, whose term expires in November.
The Lebanese parliament has been adjourned until October 23 to give majority and opposition lawmakers more time in finding a consensus candidate to replace Lahoud. The parliament has not been in session since last November.
