BEIRUT, Lebanon - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa decided at the last minute to remain in Beirut until Saturday to continue talks with Lebanese leaders, after originally planning to leave Friday.

The Arab League chief held talks in Beirut Friday with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora and Future party leader Saad Hariri, and had already extended his visit beyond the few hours initially scheduled.

Mussa then decided to leave Saturday in order to continue his talks with opposition leaders, aiming at reconciliation after weeks of political standoff in Lebanon.

Some observers described the additional extension as 'positive' while others said that it came as a result of a 'failure' of Mussa's initiative and that a 'few more hours' will not change the situation.

Lebanon's political scene has been in a state of paralysis since December 1, when thousands of opposition protesters began a mass sit- in at two main squares in downtown Beirut in a bid bring down the Seniora government and force a national unity government that includes opposition groups.

Mussa had just returned from Damascus, where he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad, also as part of his initiative to resolve the political crisis in Lebanon.

'There are problems that are starting to be clearer, and other problems that are on their way to being resolved,' Mussa said in a joint press conference held following Friday's Muslim prayers. 'These (problems) demand that we work even harder.'

At his side, Hariri, the son of slain former premier Rafik Hariri, said that 'viewpoints were poles apart but Secretary General Amr Mussa succeeded in bringing them closer.'

In Damascus, Mussa also held talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.

On Thursday, the Arab League chief described the outcome of his talks as positive, adding that he had received confirmation from Assad that he would 'support my efforts, the initiative I am making, and the efforts of the Arab League in this regard' to Lebanon.

'I feel relieved,' Mussa said in Damascus, adding: 'What is important is to salvage the Arab world from the woes of divisions.'

'We are moving towards getting a Lebanese reconciliation,' said Mussa, who had also held talks during the past three days with rival Lebanese leaders.

Unlike the Lebanese government, however, some independent and pro- Syrian opposition media said Mussa's efforts were 'in vain.'

'The crisis comes full circle after Mussa's return from Damascus,' reported the Sunni al-Liwaa daily. 'The political atmosphere in which Mussa's talks with Damascus were held does not promise a breakthrough.'

'The initiative that Mussa leads is in a serious race with time,' the newspaper added.

Syria and Iran are the main backers of Lebanon's Shiite group Hezbollah, which has lead the opposition protests, while the government of Seniora is backed by the US, European Union and Sunni Muslim Arab states. -DPA