2008-05-08 23:43:12 -

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council urged rival parties in Lebanon to immediately stop fighting, reopen roads and start talking to resolve the country's biggest political crisis in nearly two decades which a top U.N. envoy warned could have «serious regional repercussions.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told the U.N. Security Council that

«Lebanon appears once again to be on the brink» _ a view endorsed by Roed-Larsen, who called it «a very correct and very precise way» of describing the current situation.
A 17-month power struggle between Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's Western-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition backed by Syria and Iran for control of the government exploded into violence Wednesday.
The fighting was sparked by the government's announcement Tuesday that it would shut down a newly discovered communications network Hezbollah has established throughout Lebanon which connects to a Syrian network as well as Hezbollah surveillance cameras at Beirut's airport.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah accused the government of declaring war on his Shiite militant group and warned of swift retaliation against any attacks on his organization and any attempts to disarm his supporters. Clashes Wednesday and Thursday between opposition and government supporters shut down virtually all gatways into Lebanon.
Security Council members said in a press statement they were «deeply concerned by the current clashes and unrest in Lebanon, including the blocking of major roads at Beirut International Airport.
The council urged «all sides to exercise calm and restraint, and called for the immediate reopening of all roads.» Members also «stressed the vital importance that all sides work together to resolve Lebanon's problems through peaceful dialogue.
Lebanon has been without a president since pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ended Nov. 23 because the sharply divided parliament has failed to elect a successor.
The council urged the rival parties «to urgently work together to elect a new president» in accordance with a plan adopted by Arab foreign ministers in Cairo in January.
Parliament agreed on Army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as a consensus president but has failed to elect him because Saniora's parliamentary majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition are at loggerheads over power-sharing and the shape of the future Cabinet. The Arab League plan calls for Suleiman's election, formation of a national unity government and the adoption of a new electoral law.
The Security Council issued the statement after a meeting to discuss Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's recent report on implementation of a 2004 U.N. resolution that calls for presidential elections under the constitution and the disbanding of all militias.
Roed-Larsen, the U.N. envoy monitoring implementation of the resolution, told the council Thursday that «over the last six months, there has been no tangible progress towards the implementation.
«To the contrary, the riots that started yesterday (Wednesday) in Lebanon show tragically that the country today confronts challenges of a magnitude unseen since the end of the civil war» in 1990, he said.
«The electoral void combined with the stalled functions of Parliament, and the defiant maneuvers of militias are all threats to Lebanon's ability to operate as a sovereign, democratic and independent state,» Roed-Larsen said. «These developments can also have serious regional repercussions.
Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador, accused Hezbollah of «constructing a state-within-a-state without regard for the authority of the Lebanese government and the safety and stability of the nation.
«Its continued defiance is leading other political groups to consider rearming as well,» he said.
Roed-Larsen told the council the U.N. also remains deeply concerned by the activities of two Damascus-based Palestinian militias _ the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and Fatah Al-Intifada _ «which maintain significant paramilitary infrastructures outside refugee camps and along the border between Lebanon and Syria.

He said Syria bears responsibility for ensuring that these groups abide by Security Council resolutions.
Khalilzad accused Syria of refusing to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon or delineate their border.
«Hezbollah's development of a state-within-a-state and Syria's refusal to recognize Lebanon's sovereignty are clear threats to international peace and security,» he said. «If these trends continue, then Syria and Iran _ for their support of Hezbollah _ will bear responsibility for the risks to Lebanon, the region, and the world that they have created.
Khalilzad said the council may also have to look at additional steps, including a possible new resolution and sanctions.
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari accused Roed-Larsen of focusing «on accusing Syria of being behind all problems and crises facing Lebanon.
He claimed the U.N. was working «at the behest of some regional as well as international well-known parties to harm the interests of Lebanon first and to harm the Syrian-Lebanese bilateral relationship as well.
Roed-Larsen ignores Syria's «positive stance on Lebanon» and President Bashar Assad's support for the Arab ministerial initiative and any non-Arab peace initiative on Lebanon based on national reconciliation, Ja'afari said.