US senators John Kerry and Christopher Dodd held talks on Monday with Lebanese leaders on the country's deepening political crisis, a day before the two Democratic lawmakers head to neighboring Syria. Kerry and Dodd met with US-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora whose government is facing open-ended street protests staged by the Hizbullah-led opposition to pressure him into resigning. 
The National News Agency said Saniora briefed the two senators on his government's efforts to deal with the crisis. It did not elaborate. Saniora also told Kerry and Dodd about Lebanon's preparations to convene an international donors' conference scheduled in France next month with the aim of revitalizing the national economy following the devastating Hizbullah-Israel war last summer, the agency said. The two senators also discussed the Lebanese crisis with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hizbullah ally. No details of their talks were disclosed and the two senators did not speak to reporters after their meetings.