Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa on Saturday urged the rival Lebanese leaders to practice restraint, warning that escalation by the Hizbullah-led opposition would trigger counter escalation by government supporters and pleaded for dialogue among Lebanese leaders.
Addressing a press conference before ending the second phase of his mediation, Moussa said: "We hope to benefit from this (Arab) support and the refrain from escalation that would lead to counter escalation."
"I heard that there are intentions to escalate (the protest). This would be very serious for Lebanon … I strongly call for avoiding escalation," Moussa said, according to AFP. Moussa added: "I do not think that Lebanon is on the verge of civil war."
"Lebanon is going through a critical turning point," he warned. However, he said: "We shall maintain our contacts and the Arab mediation … during the holiday season."
Moussa said his efforts to work out a compromise between the majority government of Premier Fouad Saniora and opponents from Hizbullah and its allies has reached "a point of understanding but the possibility of escalation exists."
He urged the two sides to "come to terms … this is a phase where the Lebanese have to decide for themselves" how to work out a settlement in the ongoing crisis.
"Contacts between Lebanese leaders do not exist," Moussa said. "I strongly call on Lebanese leaders to establish the necessary contacts between them."
"We offered Lebanese leaders proposals aimed at resolving the issues in dispute and it is up to them to accept them," he said.
"Some proposals were accepted, others met with prevarication. We had hoped that these proposals would achieve a breakthrough but contacts between the various leaders do not exist, making an understanding very difficult," Moussa added.
