Rice to discuss Lebanon with French, German diplomats
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to discuss Lebanon on Saturday with French and German diplomats on the sidelines of a meeting on Iraq in Turkey. French, Spanish and Italian foreign ministers visited Lebanon last month to urge leaders to resolve the country's political crisis.
Parliament is scheduled to make another attempt to elect a president on November 12, but like the two previous attempts in September and October, the government and the opposition have been unable to reach a compromise ahead of the session. Failure to pick a leader to replace pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, whose term expires November 24, could throw the country into further political chaos.
On her flight to Europe Thursday, Rice laid down strong conditions that she said the US and Lebanon's European backers demand in the upcoming election.
"There's a lot of talk right now about compromise in Lebanon," Rice said. "But any candidate for president, or any president, needs to be committed to the constitutional order, needs to be committed to Lebanon's sovereignty and independence."