Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa is expected to continue his current mediation between the Lebanese government and opposition until December 23 before breaking for the holiday period. According to Mussa, he will end his current round of talks on Friday but he decided to extend his stay by a day.
A Lebanese official described the extension as a positive development, the AFP reported.
"We are working for a comprehensive settlement and there are no insurmountable obstacles," Mussa said. He held separate talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Premier Fouad Saniora, parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michael Aoun and ex-president Amin Gemayel.
Addressing reporters after his talks with Saniora, Mussa said: "we've reached the details, and devils live in details." However, he said: "we've started solving some difficulties … we need to intensify the effort."
Mussa stressed that Arab backing for his mediation makes its success a "necessity." "We've reached the point by which Lebanese leaders should start talking to each other," he added.
Meanwhile, the opposition daily Al-Akhbar said the "chances of a rapid solution are dwindling because of the obstinacy of those in power".
