PM Hariri vows to find way out of Lebanon crisis

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Saad al-Hariri, vowed on Friday to work with President Michel Suleiman on forming a new government after the powerful Hezbollah forced the collapse of his cabinet.

"My allies and I will participate in consultations (to name a new premier) and will fully cooperate with the president to form a new government in line with the requirements to maintain national unity," Hariri said in a brief statement after meeting with Suleiman.

"I never sought power," he added. "Between power and the dignity of my family and nation, I choose the dignity of Lebanon and the Lebanese."

Hariri's 30-strong unity government collapsed on Wednesday with the resignation of 11 ministers led by the Iranian-backed Shiite armed movement Hezbollah.

The Western-backed premier, who returned to Lebanon on Friday from week-long talks in the United States, France and Turkey, said the collapse was "unprecedented in the history of Lebanese governments."

The walkout came after months of wrangling over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), a U.N.-backed probe into the murder of ex-premier Rafiq al-Hariri, Saad's father, in a 2005 bomb blast.

Hezbollah wants Hariri to disavow the tribunal, which is reportedly poised to indict senior members of the Shiite movement in connection with the assassination.

Suleiman is to begin consultations on Monday with parliamentary groups on appointing a new premier.

The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, meanwhile, said that the collapse of the Lebanese government would not derail a probe into ex-premier Hariri's murder and urged rival camps to exercise restraint.

"As the United States and the international community have said from the beginning, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is an irrevocable, international judicial process; its work is not a matter of politics but of law," ambassador Maura Connelly said.

"The resignation of some of Lebanon's ministers will not change this."

Her statement came after a meeting with General Michel Aoun, a key Christian ally of the powerful Shiite party Hezbollah.

"The United States calls on all political factions to remain calm and exercise restraint at this critical time," Connelly said.

"It is now more important than ever that all sides commit to constructive dialogue and avoid escalating tensions in the country," she added.

As the United States and the international community have said from the beginning, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is an irrevocable, international judicial process; its work is not a matter of politics but of law

US Ambassador Maura Connelly

Contact group

France, Lebanon's former colonial power, has proposed the creation of an international "contact group" to negotiate a settlement to the crisis, a European diplomat in Beirut told AFP.

"The contact group would include Syria, Saudi Arabia, France, the United States, Qatar, Turkey and possibly other countries," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The group would meet outside of Lebanon given the current tensions in the country."

The French foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny the proposal.

The resignations came after efforts by regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Syria to find a compromise on the tribunal failed.

But local politicians have begun to float the idea of reviving the Syrian-Saudi initiative.

"If both sides agree to remain on that track, then no one can compete with Hariri" for the premiership, an official close to Hezbollah told AFP.

"If they get off that track, then all options are open as far as other candidates for the premiership," he said on condition of anonymity.

In an interview published Friday in the pro-Hariri daily An-Nahar, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt echoed that view, saying there was "no escaping" the Syrian-Saudi proposal.

Officials have told AFP the pact proposed a trade-off: Hezbollah will not resort to violence if Hariri agrees to reject the STL accusations.

"Our decision is final and there is no turning back... Hariri can still head a government that will serve its term through to 2013 only if he vows to forego the tribunal," a Hezbollah source told the daily al-Akhbar, which is close to the Shiite militant party.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who has made it clear he would not sit idle should any members of his party be indicted, is expected to address the political crisis in coming days.

"History of resistance"

Ahead of Monday's consultations, Hezbollah said it would nominate a premier with "a history of resistance," but stopped short of giving any names.

"We will meet on Sunday to make the decision we find appropriate," MP Abbas Hashem, a member of the Hezbollah-led parliamentary alliance, told AFP.

"We respect Saad Hariri's inability to face the crisis, seeing as he himself had said he was not that keen on holding on to premiership."

Jumblatt's parliamentary bloc will be the first group to meet with Suleiman. The Druze leader controls 11 key votes in parliament that could make or break the next government.

Jumblatt for years had been allied with Hariri, but he moved closer to Hezbollah in 2009.

Hariri's bloc has ruled out the nomination of anyone other than the outgoing premier.

"In light of his popularity, Saad Hariri is the sole candidate for premiership," said Ghattas Khoury, an adviser to Hariri.

"All this talk of nominating someone else is a ploy to intimidate Hariri by saying he has competition and pressuring him into meeting the conditions" of the rival camp, Khoury told AFP.

"Hariri is being demanded to give up the tribunal and reject its indictments even before they are issued. This did not happen and it will not happen."