Obama consults Mubarak on Lebanon, Tunisia

US President grateful to his Egyptian counterpart for his support for Hariri probe in Lebanon.

Middle East Online

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama on Tuesday consulted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on political tumult in Tunisia and tensions in Lebanon sparked by a UN probe into the killing of Rafiq Hariri. Obama spoke to the Egyptian leader after US officials said last week they were seeking to exert leverage in Lebanon though key regional players, and after the flight of ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The White House said Obama told Mubarak he was urging calm, an end to violence and free and fair elections in Tunisia, amid public rage at the continued presence of the ousted president's party on the political scene. Obama also told Mubarak he was grateful for his support for the UN probe in Lebanon, which has kept its first indictment in the killing of the former prime minister under wraps amid fears of violence in Beirut. The US president also offered personal condolences to Mubarak and the Egyptian people for the "heinous" bombing targeting Coptic Christians on January 1 in Alexandria that left 21 people dead and wounded 79 others. The two men also discussed stalled efforts to advance peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the statement said.