Rome to send FM to Beirut to help end political crisis as Lebanese parliament meets to elect new president

BEIRUT - Italy's foreign minister, part of an EU troika seeking to end Lebanon's political deadlock, will return to Beirut next week when parliament meets to elect a new president, his envoy said on Thursday.

"Mr Massimo d'Alema will come to Lebanon next week," Cesare Ragaglini told a news conference at the Italian embassy after a week-long visit to Lebanon.

Diplomatic sources said there was a strong possibility that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner would also return to push for a smooth end to the long-running crisis over the presidency.

On October 21, the foreign ministers of France, Italy and Spain visited Beirut but failed in their bid to break the deadlock that continues to prevent the election of a new president to succeed pro-Syrian incumbent Emile Lahoud.

Ragaglini said he met Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and many officials from both the Western-backed ruling coalition and the opposition, which is supported by Syria and Iran.

"The leaders are really aware that if they do not elect a president, or that if they did not elect with consensus, there might be problems," Ragaglini said.

"In the state of cooperation which characterises the democracy in Lebanon, the election of the president is very important," he added.

Despite international pressure for the election to go ahead, officials say parliament speaker Nabih Berri is expected to postpone for a third time a special session planned for next Monday to vote on a new president.

Two previous special sessions in September and October for MPs to pick a president were postponed for lack of consensus between the ruling majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition.

Lahoud's mandate expires on November 24.

Fears are running high that the standoff over the presidency could lead to two rival governments, a grim reminder of the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war when two competing administrations battled it out. -Agencies