Rice will discuss Lebanon crisis in Kuwait

MANAMA (Reuters) - Talks on the political crisis in Lebanon will be held on the sidelines of a conference aimed at stabilising Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday.

Rice will join Arab nations and other G8 countries for the conference of Iraq's neighbours in Kuwait on Tuesday, which is expected to back Iraq's drive to disarm militias and urge more embassies to open in Baghdad.

France had been seeking to discuss Lebanon at a ministerial-level meeting, which is expected to call for the immediate election of a new president.

"There was a very strong commitment to a Lebanon that can discharge its affairs in an atmosphere of sovereignty and democracy without outside interference," Rice told a news conference.

Lebanon's parliament is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to elect a president, but after 17 delays of the vote, political sources were not expecting a breakthrough.

The conflict in Lebanon pits the Beirut government close to Saudi Arabia and the United States against an opposition dominated by the Shi'ite Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran.

The government has been paralysed by the crisis and Lebanon has been without a president since November 2007. The main point of dispute is the opposition demand for effective veto power in cabinet. The ruling coalition has rejected the demand.

Syria pledged at an Arab summit last month to cooperate on ending the crisis but made it clear that it would not push its allies in Lebanon to allow the election of a new president unless their demands are met.

Ties between Syria and Lebanon's governing coalition and Western powers soured after the killing of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in 2005. An international investigation team has also implicated Syrian officials in the assassination, one of the reasons for the crisis in Lebanon. Syria denies involvement.