Lebanon names pro-Syrian as PM

Najib Mikati is a businessman with ties to Syria

The moderate pro-Syrian MP Najib Mikati has been named as Lebanon's new prime minister by the country's president.

It came two days after the caretaker Prime Minister, Omar Karami, resigned for the second time in six weeks, after failing to form a government.

Mr Mikati, a former Public Works Minister, won the nomination with the support of opposition MPs.

The opposition wants to see a new government in place quickly to prepare for elections that are due in May.

Mr Mikati said he was "honoured" to have been appointed and said his government would be a "symbol of moderation and national unity".

"I come with an open hand and an open heart so that we can all co-operate in the interests of Lebanon," he said.

'Put aside differences'

The new prime minister designate thanked assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's sister Bahia in particular, and the opposition in general, for nominating him.

In remarks broadcast on Arabic al-Jazeera TV, he called on politicians to "seize this opportunity" and put aside their differences to make the government successful.

He said he had three basic aims in government:

• To prepare for the forthcoming parliamentary elections

• To keep informed about the international investigation into Hariri's death

• To cope with the economic situation and build confidence in Lebanon and among its neighbours about the state of the country.

A businessmen with ties to Syria, Mr Mikati was minister for transport and public works for six years from 1998, mostly under Hariri.

His main rival for the post was pro-Syrian Defence Minister Abdul-Rahim Murad.

Opposition MPs had refused to participate in previous consultations to find a prime minister because they wanted certain demands met first.

Now the opposition feels it has achieved some of what it wanted, such as Syria's pledge to withdraw troops from the country and an international inquiry into the killing of Hariri.

Syrian withdrawal

Hariri's death in a car bomb in February sparked a political crisis in Lebanon and the start of the withdrawal of Syrian forces, due to be completed by 30 April.

Opposition groups have accused Syria of involvement in Hariri's death, an accusation that Damascus has strongly denied.

Damascus has been coming under increasing international pressure since last September's UN Security Council resolution demanding an end to Syria's military presence in Lebanon.

Syrian troops first entered Lebanon in 1976 to separate warring Lebanese factions soon after the outbreak of the country's 15-year civil war.