September 17, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 16, 1429

BEIRUT, Sept 16: The president of Lebanon called on rival leaders to unite on Tuesday at the first session of talks that will focus on one of their deepest areas of division — the role of Hezbollah guerrillas in defending the country.

President Michel Suleiman opened a “national dialogue” at the presidential palace by calling for reconciliation among the politicians whose power struggle pushed Lebanon to the brink of civil war in May.

“The alternatives ... call for grave concern and fear for the future,” Suleiman, the former army commander, told 14 Lebanese politicians, including senior Hezbollah official Mohammed Raad, at the opening session.

The talks were agreed as part of a Qatari-mediated deal that defused 18 months of conflict between an anti-Syrian parliamentary majority alliance and a Damascus-backed coalition led by the Hezbollah.

—Reuters