Arab League chief speaks to top Lebanese officials

CAIRO

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Wednesday urged Lebanon’s various political camps to resist what he described as “attempts to sow unrest in the country”.

Aboul Gheit made his appeal in a series of phone calls with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, recently-resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, according to an Arab League statement.

In his calls with the Lebanese officials, Aboul Gheit also stressed the importance of resisting attempts by certain parties -- which he did not identify by name -- to “polarize or impose hegemony over” Lebanese society.

He went on to voice hope that Lebanon would be able to "emerge from its current political crisis without any adverse effects on civil peace or stability”.

The Arab League chief also called on crisis-hit Lebanon’s rival political camps to put the country’s national interest over narrow political considerations.

On Saturday, in a televised address delivered from Saudi Arabia, Hariri abruptly announced his resignation from the Lebanese premiership.

In his address, Hariri criticized Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, accusing them of sowing “sedition” in the region and meddling in Arab affairs.

The resignation, however, has yet to be formally accepted by President Aoun, who has demanded that Hariri -- who is still in Saudi Arabia -- first return to Lebanon to clarify his position.

Earlier Wednesday, Berri, Lebanon’s parliament speaker, said the Lebanese government was still intact despite Hariri’s abrupt resignation.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, for his part, has said there was “no reason” for Hariri to step down, accusing Saudi Arabia of forcing him to resign.

Hariri was appointed prime minister late last year. Before Saturday’s resignation, he had led a 30-member government that included Hezbollah representatives.

Saudi Arabia, Hariri’s longtime backer, is Iran’s arch-foe in the region. While Riyadh supports Syria’s armed opposition, Iran and Hezbollah both support Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime.

Reporting by Khaled Ibrahim; Writing byAli Abo Rezeg