High-level Lebanese talks in Qatar

Hezbollah insisted the group's arsenal remain untouched, saying it was necessary for fighting Israel, Lebanese media reported on the first day of the negotiations in Qatar on forming a unity government and electing a president after the country's worst violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The two sides flew to Qatar's capital, Doha, following a deal mediated by the Arab League that brought an end to a week of violence. The deal included an agreement that the talks would lead to the election of compromise candidate Army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman as president.

President Bush said the country had reached a "defining moment."

The weapons demand was seen as an attempt by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's side to guarantee that Hezbollah won't take to the streets again as it did when it overran Sunni Muslim West Beirut in clashes left 67 people dead and wounded more than 200.

"This is a defining moment," Bush said after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt. "It is a moment that requires us to stand strongly with the Saniora government and to support the Saniora government."

Lebanon's official National News Agency said the Qatar talks became tense when parliament majority leader Saad Hariri, a Sunni, and hardline pro-government Christian politician Samir Geagea brought up the issue of Hezbollah's weapons.

Geagea had warned Hezbollah that Doha talks would fail if the Shiite Islamist group sticks to keeping its weapons.

"We can no longer accept Hezbollah as it is," he told the Qatari Al-Jazeera TV.

The private LBC Television said the feuding sides engaged in "heated discussions" over the subject, which took up most of the morning session.