Hariri, Aoun and Mousa hold talks

Beirut and Damascus: Top leaders from Lebanon's parliament majority and the opposition met for the first time in three months yesterday as part of efforts by the head of the Arab League to end Lebanon's 15-month-old political crisis.

Majority leader Sa'ad Hariri and Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun met at the parliament building in downtown Beirut. They were joined by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mousa and former Lebanese President Ameen Gemayel, who is aligned with the anti-Syrian majority.

Horizons opening

For the past two days, Mousa has been meeting Lebanese officials to try to find a breakthrough for the crisis - Lebanon's worst since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. It was his second trip to Lebanon this month.

Lebanon has been without a president since pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ended on November 23 and the legislature is to make its 13th attempt to elect a head of state on Monday.

"The horizons are opening up," Mousa told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and shortly before heading to parliament to attend the Hariri-Aoun meeting. "We are doing all we can to reach a solution." During four days of talks in Beirut last week, Mousa failed to get the two sides to agree on a plan adopted by Arab foreign ministers in Egypt on January 5, which calls for the election of army commander, General Michel Sul-aiman, as president, the formation of a national unity government and adoption of a new election law.

Meanwhile, Syria hit back at Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for criticising its role in Lebanon, saying Syria could not force its Lebanese allies to accept a solution to the country's political crisis.

"Dealing with Syria as if it was still in Lebanon or as if its allies are a tool represents an insult to a large proportion of Lebanese," Syrian Information Minister Muhsin Bilal told reporters.

"Reaching a consensus in Lebanon is a joint Arab responsibility," Bilal said. "Saudi Arabia plays a big role in Lebanon. It has allies who boast about their alliance with Saudi Arabia," he added.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said this week that Damascus should use its influence with its allies in the Leb-anese opposition to carry out an Arab League plan to fill the vacant post of president and form a functioning government.

Power sharing

The exchange was the latest of a series of disagreements between the two countries over Lebanon. Egypt, another Arab US ally, has also criticised Syria over Lebanon, whose future will be a key topic at an Arab summit in Damascus in March.

Syria and Saudi Arabia have historically had different interests in Lebanon, but both supported an Arab initiative that backed the election of Lebanese army commander Michel Suleiman as president, breaking a deadlock between the political camps. While accepting Suleiman as president, Leb-anon's politicians still disagree over how to share power once he is elected.

"Egypt and Saudi Arabia should persuade their own friends in the Lebanese majority to accept a solution," Bilal said.