ALGIERS, May 22, 2008 (Xinhua) -- Algeria has expressed "great satisfaction" after Lebanese political representatives signed the Doha agreement marking a major milestone in the search for a solution to a crisis that has engulfed Lebanon for a number of years.
The agreement "lays the groundwork and defines the framework likely to help end a serious crisis that has afflicted the country over the past few years," the Algerian foreign ministry spokesman announced in a statement Wednesday.
This success, "which in the first place, preserves the unity of the Lebanese people and its constitutional institutions in the light of its pioneering democratic experience, was only made possible by a high sense of responsibility and self-sacrifice on the part of the negotiators," according to the statement.
"The participants at the talks placed the supreme interest of Lebanon well above narrow considerations in order to arrive at an acceptable agreement," said the spokesman, at the same time commending the two sides.
"The settlement reached by Lebanese parties means that there's neither a victor nor a looser in accordance with the text and spirit of the Arab initiative," said the statement, adding that "the Lebanese parties must join hands and remain committed to the Doha Agreement with a view to ensuring its quick implementation."
The execution of the agreement "requires, from all those who contributed to its success, serious and honest efforts to establish the appropriate conditions to enable the implementation of its provisions and provide the enabling environment for a continued inter-Lebanese dialogue on the basis of consensus and mutual trust," according to the spokesman.
Algeria "has spared and will spare no effort in lending a helping hand to our Lebanese brothers to overcome the huge challenge that they are currently facing," said the Algerian foreign ministry, hailing what it described as a "highly successful and historic achievement" for the Lebanese people.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition announced that they had reached an agreement during Arab League-sponsored talks in Doha, Qatar, to end a political conflict that was threatening to plunge the country into a full-blown civil war.
Lebanon, which is currently going through one of its gravest political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, is pegging its hopes on the implementation of the Doha agreement. The country has been without a president since former President Emile Lahoud completed his constitutional mandate in November 2007.