Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived in Syria late Wednesday to hold talks with officials about political developments in Lebanon and the stalled Middle East peace process, officials said.

The Foreign Office said that Hague would meet with President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem during the 24-hour visit.

Syria's daily Al-Watan, which is close to the Damascus government, on Wednesday expressed its support for Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati and said he would bring change to the region.

The newspaper added that Lebanon had finally "uncovered the plot" hatched by the West to exploit the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) investigating the murder of former premier Rafik Hariri.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat denied he came under pressure to name Najib Miqati for the premier’s post and criticized as “political dementia” accusations that the prime minister-designate represents the Faqih rule.

“I haven’t come under pressure from anyone, neither from Syria nor from Hizbullah,” Jumblat told As Safir daily about his decision to nominate Miqati rather than Saad Hariri.

An agreement was reportedly made between the March 8 forces backed by Syria and Democratic Gathering leader MP Walid Jumblat for his bloc to give seven votes for the opposition’s nominee for the premier’s post, Omar Karami, amid efforts to guarantee a eighth MP.

An Nahar daily quoted March 14 forces as saying Saturday that Democratic Gathering MPs who are not members of Jumblat’s Progressive Socialist Party have informed him that they would nominate caretaker Premier Saad Hariri. They are: Mohammed al-Hajjar, Fouad al-Saad, Henri Helou, Marwan Hamadeh and Antoine Saad.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani on Thursday stressed "the importance of stability, security and preventing the aggravation of the situation in Lebanon," Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported.

Talks between Assad and Sheikh Hamad, who arrived in Damascus on a sudden visit, dealt with "the bilateral relations between the two countries and the latest developments in the region, particularly in Lebanon, amid the failure of the efforts aimed at reaching a solution there," SANA added.

Egypt has suggested the formation of an Arab League committee to follow up developments in Lebanon but Syria rejected, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Wednesday.

Al-Hayat said the suggestion was made by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit during the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday.

Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar has asked his Syrian counterpart Ahmed Younes to refer the arrest warrants against Lebanese personalities to the Lebanese judiciary but has received no answer.

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan unveiled to Future News on Tuesday night that the request was made on December 17.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday bypassed Congress to name the first U.S. ambassador to Syria in nearly six years, part of his Middle East engagement drive criticized by Republican opponents.

Obama took the controversial step of forcing through the appointments of Ambassador Robert Ford and five other officials while the Senate -- which normally needs to confirm nominations -- was out of session.

A Lebanese figure close to Syria urged Lebanese not to be over-optimistic about the Saudi-Syria mediation effort to find an exit to the crisis over the international tribunal.

He confirmed that the Saudi-Syria deal had been cut during the recent visit by President Bashar Assad to Saudi Arabia and his meeting at Riyadh airport with King Abdullah in the presence of his son, Prince Abdul Aziz.

A Saudi-Syria compromise based on Lebanon's withdrawal from the international tribunal is likely to be announced by January 15, the daily Al-Akhbar newspaper said Wednesday.

It said Syrian President Bashar Assad updated President Michel Suleiman during a Dec. 26 phone call on the content of his conversation with Saudi King Abdullah and his son Prince Abdul Aziz regarding the Syrian-Saudi compromise "which is near-completion."