Lebanese to hold crisis talks in Qatar

By Tom Perry

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rival Lebanese leaders are scheduled to talks in Qatar on Friday aiming to end a protracted political conflict that pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war.

Leaders of the U.S.-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition will try to forge a deal to end the standoff which has paralysed government for 18 months and left Lebanon without a president since November.

An Arab League mediation mission sealed an agreement on Thursday which ended fighting between ruling coalition supporters and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

The sides agreed to talks in Doha as part of the deal.

Hezbollah, a Shi'ite military and political group, had routed its opponents in battles that killed 81 and inflamed sectarian tensions with Sunni and Druze followers of the governing coalition.

Hezbollah's military gains -- a blow to the United States, Saudi Arabia and other backers of the government -- have forced the government to rescind two decisions which the group had said amounted to a declaration of war.

The ruling coalition also appears to have dropped its demands that the election of a new president precede discussions on a new cabinet and a new parliamentary election law -- the two main issues on the agenda of the Qatar talks.

"At the Doha conference, there will be an opportunity for everyone to give his opinion on all the issues," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said on Thursday in Beirut, announcing the talks.