Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora was expected yesterday to press President Vladimir Putin to use his influence with Syria to help defuse a political crisis that Siniora sees as a Damascus-backed coup attempt.
The Lebanese premier arrived late on Thursday in Moscow amid domestic upheaval including mass demonstrations in Beirut by supporters of the Syrian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its Christian allies against Siniora's Western-backed government.
"We are for the regularization of relations with Syria. I think Russia can exert some pressure in this direction," Siniora said overnight, the Interfax news agency reported.
He was scheduled to meet Putin, Russian security council chief Igor Ivanov and parliamentary leaders, ITAR-TASS reported.
The Lebanese prime minister's arch rival, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is scheduled to fly to the Russian capital on Monday for a three-day visit, prompting speculation that Putin may attempt to broker a deal between the two leaders.
Moscow is eager to reassert its influence in the Middle East, which has waned since the collapse of the Soviet Union. As its chief arms supplier, Russia is recognized as having influence over Syria, its longtime chief ally in the region.
According to Siniora, Moscow could play a key role because Russia "not only supports Lebanon, but the whole Arab people ... This fact is very important for us," ITAR-TASS reported.
He singled out what he said had been Russia's diplomatic influence in pressing for an end to Israel's conflict with Lebanon in July and August, triggered by a Hezbollah cross-border raid into Israel.
"Russia gave political support to Lebanon this summer and did everything to end this terrible war," it said.
Siniora acknowledged that his country faced a grave political crisis, but expressed confidence that a resolution could be found.
"I believe that we will manage to avoid a split, although the situation inside the country is not as optimistic as we could hope for," he was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS. "The Lebanese do not have an alternative to dialogue with each other."
Ahead of the trip, Lebanon's ambassador to Russia said that Siniora's visit was aimed at providing Russia with "trustworthy" information about the situation in Lebanon, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Syria was the powerbroker in Lebanon for nearly three decades. It was forced to withdraw its troops last year amid a public outcry over the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri, widely blamed on Syria but denied by Damascus.
Lebanon's pro-Syrian political opposition now wants to bring down Siniora's government over demands for greater power-sharing, seen by the government as a ploy to reassert Syrian influence in the country.
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