Lebanese Premier Will Stay

Lebanon’s pro-Syria prime minister, Omar Karami, will try to form a government as soon as possible to lead the nation into elections planned in May, rather than step down as he had previously said he would, a top official said Friday.

In a move that threatened to delay the May vote, Karami had said this week that he would resign after failing to persuade anti-Syria opposition figures to join a national unity Cabinet.

But parliament speaker Nabih Berri said after a meeting of pro-Syria politicians that Karami had reluctantly agreed to stay on.

Karami resigned as prime minister more than a month ago under pressure from Lebanese citizens angered by the killing of his predecessor, Rafik Hariri, which has thrown the country into its biggest political crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

But parliament reappointed Karami to form a national unity government of pro-Syria loyalists and opposition members. His old Cabinet still holds office in a caretaker capacity.

On Thursday, Lebanese opposition leaders accused Syria and its local allies of trying to delay elections to prolong the life of the current parliament, which is largely loyal to Damascus.