The head of the Arab League on Monday said he held important talks on the Lebanese crisis with Syrian President Bashar Assad but said there were still a lot of issues to be worked out.

Amr Moussa has been trying to mediate an end to the deepening political crisis between Lebanon's rival factions but failed to bring about an agreement during a visit to Lebanon last month.

Moussa visited Saudi Arabia Sunday and later traveled to Syria, hoping to achieve a breakthrough on the political deadlock that is threatening to tear Lebanon apart.

Lebanon is facing its most serious political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war, with the Western-backed government of Fuad Saniora and the Hezbollah-led opposition locked in a fierce power struggle.

One of the opposition's key demands is the creation of a new national unity government in which it has veto power. But the existing government has so far resisted such a move.

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The crisis has taken on an increasingly sectarian tone and has erupted into street clashes between supporters of pro- and anti-government factions in recent months.

A political crisis is looming over the presidency as well. The legislature must vote on a replacement for pro-Syrian Lahoud, whose term expires later this year, but it is highly unlikely that Lebanon's divided leaders can agree on a candidate — threatening a power vacuum, or even worse the creation of two rival governments.

Moussa said Monday he held "very important" talks with Assad and other Syrian officials about ways of resolving the Lebanese crisis and said Syria and Saudi Arabia agreed on the need to resolve the stalemate.

"There is an increasing consensus toward agreeing on achieving progress and moving toward a solution," Moussa told reporters. He warned, however, that there were still "a lot of issues" that need to be worked out.

Syrian officials have publicly backed the Lebanese opposition's demands for a national unity government, saying it is the only way out of the crisis.

Syria had tens of thousands of troops in Lebanon and held enormous sway in the country before it was forced to withdraw in the fallout from the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Damascus and Tehran are believed to provide backing for the militant Hezbollah guerrilla group. U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, meanwhile, support the Saniora government. The Saudi cabinet on Monday expressed its support for Moussa's mediation efforts.

Moussa did not elaborate on his talks in the Syrian capital. He said he would return to Lebanon but did not say when.

His visit comes days ahead of a meeting in France that will bring together representatives of Lebanon's rival political factions for a dialogue organized by the French government. Moussa said the Arab League will send a representative to the talks this weekend.

The Associated Press