( dpa )- Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa upon arrival Wednesday in Beirut expressed hope for a second round of talks with Lebanese rivals to achieve progress and end the stalemate between the country's Western-backed government and the opposition backed by the Shiite group Hezbollah.
"The Arab League will do its utmost to try to find a solution to the Lebanese crisis," Lebanese officials quoted Mussa .
According to sources close to Mussa , the Arab League official will meet Wednesday with the head of the ruling majority deputy Saad Hariri , Premier Fouad Seniora and House Speaker Nabih Berri .
Lebanese political sources said Mussa contacted Lebanese leaders ahead of his Beirut visit amid reports he was seeking to bring together Hariri and General Michel Aoun , who belongs to the opposition headed by the Shiite group Hezbollah.
The daily As- Safir on Tuesday quoted Mussa as saying that he would submit a report on the outcome of his Lebanon mission to the Arab foreign ministers on January 27.
Mussa said that in light of this report a decision would be taken as to whether there was a need for the Arab foreign ministers to come to Lebanon.
Lebanese media said Mussa is scheduled to visit Damascus on Friday for talks with Syrian officials on the Lebanese presidential crisis.
The German Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem is planning a visit to Berlin for talks on the fresh Middle East peace process and stability in Lebanon.
Lebanese political sources indicated that Lebanon might stay without a president until after the March Arab summit in Damascus or even after the legislative elections due in early 2009.
Lebanon has been without a president since pro-Syrian head of state Emile Lahoud stepped down on November 23 with no elected successor.
Mussa is trying to prod feuding politicians to agree to the Arab initiative that calls for the election of army chief General Michel Suleiman as president.
The plan also calls for the formation of a national unity government in which no one party has veto power as well as the adoption of a new electoral law.
Parliament is due to meet on January 21 for a presidential vote but 12 previous sessions have been cancelled and it is widely believe that the upcoming session will meet the same fate.
Although the ruling coalition has given the Arab plan its full backing, Hezbollah is insisting the opposition be granted a third of the seats in a new government so as to have a veto over key decisions.
Both Damascus and Tehran have voiced backing for the Arab plan with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki saying on Wednesday: "We appreciate the efforts exerted by the Arab League and we consider it to be a good base to solve the Lebanese problems."
Lebanon was struck on Tuesday by a deadly bomb which targeted a US embassy car in Beirut, killing three people and wounding 20 others.
Lebanese media described the attack as meant to torpedo efforts by the Arab League to end Lebanon's political stalemate.
"Did the bombing targeted a vehicle from the US embassy or the convoy of the Arab solution?" the pro-opposition As- Safir asked, referring to the Arab League plan.