DAMASCUS (Al-Alam) – Former Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani said on Friday, “The key to resolving Lebanon’s crisis lies in the hands of Lebanese parties,”

In a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, Larijani expressed “Iran’s support for Syrian efforts to help Lebanese parties reach a consensus about electing a new president.
Lebanon has been without a president since the mandate of Emile Lahoud expired on November 23 amid sharp divisions between the ruling majority and the opposition.
On December 28, a parliamentary session called to elect a president was postponed until January 12 -- the 11th postponement of a vote since September.
The two officials also held talks on the settlement process in Palestine and the latest regional developments.
Larijani, who represents the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in the Supreme National Security Council, arrived in Damascus on Thursday for a meeting with senior Syrian officials.
Regarding Syria’s stance on Lebanon, Walid Muallem said, “This country’ problems should be solved through negotiation among the internal groups without any foreign interference.”
During his four-day visit, Larijani will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Vice President Farouk al-Shara.
Larijani traveled to Syria on the second leg of his tour from Egypt where he met with Egyptian cultural and religious personalities, including Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit.
-------- Spanish PM holds talks in Lebanon
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero held talks Saturday with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora on Lebanon's deepening political crisis, which has produced a vacuum in the presidency, AP reported.
Zapatero, who arrived in Beirut earlier Saturday on a previously unannounced visit, also traveled to southern Lebanon where he inspected his country's troops serving with the UN peacekeeping force overseeing a truce along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
During the 45-minute meeting at Beirut airport, Saniora briefed Zapatero on “the situation in Lebanon and the continued vacuum in the presidency post,” the state-run National News Agency reported