by Nagib Khazzaka
BEIRUT, Sept 9 (AFP) - Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri announced Thursday that his government would resign this month, bringing to a head a political crisis over Syrian domination of the country's domestic affairs.
"The government will hold its last cabinet meeting on the 20th of this month ... and then will come the change," Hariri told journalists after a cabinet meeting.
His announcement came amid mounting tensions between Lebanon's political masters in Damascus and the United States that diplomats here said would see the top US Mideast envoy in the Syrian capital soon.
Hariri, a business tycoon who has been a mainstay of Lebanese politics for years, declined to say whether he would head the new government, saying only that it was necessary to await the results of discussions.
In theory, the prime minister is chosen by the head of state following a vote by the 128 MPs. In practice, Damascus has the final word.
"Hariri is physically and morally exhausted and does not want to come back (to office) but he cannot refuse if Damascus invokes strategic neccessities," a minister told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Hariri is the arch-rival of pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud, whose mandate was extended on Friday after the Lebanese parliament bowed to Syrian pressure to change the constitution to allow the move.
The vote, which has already seen four cabinet ministers resign in protest, came a day after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution backing Lebanon's sovereignty and implicitly censuring Damascus.
The resolution, which also called for foreign troops to withdraw from Lebanon and for all militia to be disbanded, was drafted by the United States and France -- traditionally a friend to Syria.
Damascus maintains at least 16,000 troops in Lebanon, a holdover from a larger contingent sent in during the 1975-1990 civil war, and supports Shiite militant movement Hezbollah, which controls areas in the south of the country.
One MP close to Damascus told AFP on condition of anonymity that "Damascus would like Hariri to come back as his influence at both international and local levels would help to cope with the fallout from the UN resolution and deal with the internal rift."
US Middle East envoy William Burns, currently on a tour of the region, is expected to visit Syria in the coming days despite worsening relations, which has seen Washington slap sanctions on Damascus over alleged support of terrorism and seeking banned weapons.
Hariri has been prime minister since 1992, apart from a brief period in the political wilderness from 1998 to 2000. The latest government was formed in April 2003.
Hariri resigned in 1998 when former army head Lahoud was first elected president with overwhelming support from Damascus. Analysts said Hariri was worried about a potential weakening of his position by a strong new president.
His admirers see him as responsible for getting the country's economy back on its feet after the civil war, while his critics accuse him of being a spendthrift in charge of a corrupt administration.
The UN vote put international pressure on both countries, with Syria vowing on Wednesday that ties between the two will only get stronger following the resolution.
"Syria and Lebanon will in the future open up more (to each other) and will increasingly reinforce and consolidate their relations," Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara said.
But Hariri must also consider the opinion of his principle ally, secular leftist Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, whose 18 MPs voted agains the constitutional amendment.
Jumblatt is seeking to redress the balance of relations with Damascus but has rejected a dialogue proposed by Lahoud after he gained his new mandate.