Syria and U.S. advise each other to stay out of Lebanese politics

Syria and the U.S. lectured each other Saturday not to interfere in upcoming Lebanese presidential elections, with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice holding a rare meeting with Syria's foreign minister in Turkey to discuss the issue.

Rice met with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on the sidelines of an Iraq conference in Istanbul and repeated U.S. demands that Syria steer clear of Lebanon's internal politics.

"I made quite clear that ... it was expected that Syria was going to adhere to its international obligations not to interfere, to allow Lebanon to have a constitutional process for the ... election of a president, and that it was also the expectation of everyone that there would be no intimidation," Rice told reporters after leaving the conference.

In response, al-Moallem said Syria supported Lebanese attempts to agree on a new president without foreign interference, according to the official news agency SANA.

SANA also quoted him as saying that "any attempt to tailor make the new president will be considered an interference in the domestic affairs of Lebanon," an apparent reference to comments Rice made Thursday outlining U.S. and European requirements for the next Lebanese leader.

Rice said Lebanon's next president must be committed to constitutional order, support U.N. Security Council resolutions protecting the country's sovereignty and commit to seeing through a tribunal for the suspects in the 2005 killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Syria's state-run Tishrin newspaper explicitly criticized Rice for these statements earlier Saturday, saying, "Condoleezza Rice speaks about Lebanon as if it is an American state."

"The immoral and blunt U.S. interference in Lebanon's internal affairs has been clearly demonstrated," added the paper, which reflects government thinking.

Despite marathon discussions between pro-government and opposition leaders in Lebanon, the two groups have made no headway in electing a new president to prevent a power vacuum or the formation of two rival administrations.

With time running out, the election has become a showdown between Iran and Syria who back the opposition, and the United States and its European allies, who support the parliamentary majority and Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government. The U.S. accuses Syria and Iran of interfering in Lebanese affairs and backing attempts to topple Saniora.

Parliament is scheduled to make another attempt to elect a president on Nov. 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 Nov. 24, could throw the country into further political chaos.

The French and Syrian foreign ministers on Friday discussed Lebanon on the sidelines of the Iraq conference in Turkey. Syria's al-Moallem blamed the U.S. for hindering any agreement on a consensus president.

In comments to the pan-Arab Al Hayat daily published Saturday, al-Moallem said, "The problem is not in Damascus but in Washington which opposes any compromise candidate and any dialogue between the Lebanese."