Italian Foreign Minister starts talks in Beirut

Jun 5, 2007, 13:55 GMT

Beirut - Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema started talks Tuesday afternoon in Beirut with Lebanese leaders on the situation in the Middle East and the international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of late premier Rafik Hariri.

D'Alema met on his arrival Lebanese Shiite House Speaker Nabih Berri.

He is scheduled to meet later with Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, Christian Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir and the head of the anti-Syrian majority in the Lebanese parliament, Saad Hariri, son of the late premier.

The Italian foreign minister, who paid a similar visit to Syria on Monday, said in Damascus, 'We will talk on Lebanon, the Middle East and the Palestinian issue because we are in a very delicate moment and we have to strengthen our cooperation for peace.'

D'Alema held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Vice- President Farouk al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.

D'Alema called for the need during the G8 foreign ministers' meeting in Germany to placate Syria that the UN tribunal looking into Hariri's death was not a step directed against it.

Al-Moallem recently announced that Syria would not cooperate with the tribunal.

Hariri's assassination in February 2005 was blamed by some Lebanese parties on Syria, a charge Damascus has repeatedly denied.

Syria has also insisted it would bring any Syrian proved to have been involved in the killing before the courts and has voiced concerns that the tribunal might be politicized.