Qatar on Thursday offered to host further inter-Lebanese talks after prime minister-designate Saad Hariri gave up on forming a government.
Qatari Prime and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Ben Jassem Ben Jabr al-Thani made the offer after Hariri stepped down as prime minister designate having spent two months trying to agree a cabinet acceptable to the opposition.

“We hope that the Lebanese will find a solution but we are ready to help them if that becomes necessary,” Sheikh Hamad said after talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“We expect current talks reach a positive result with the opposition and end up with consensus. In Lebanon, everything must be done by consensus,” he said.

Talks in Doha led to a deal in May 2008 between Lebanon’s rival political factions, paving the way for new elections and a new national unity government.

The Doha agreement put an end to an 18-month political crisis, and came after deadly factional fighting that pushed the country to the brink of civil war.(AFP)