Berlin  - Germany on Friday welcomed the announcement of talks between Lebanon's rival leaders designed to end the country's political crisis and elect a president.

Deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg called the talks in the Gulf state of Qatar a "sign of hope and encouragement."

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently in South America, was happy to learn of the agreement, he said.

Steg said a further destabilization of the country, where a week of violence left 82 dead and more than 250 wounded, would be dramatic.

Under mediation by the Arab League, the leaders of the rival Lebanese factions agreed on Thursday to hold talks with the aim of electing a new president and forming a national unity government.

Infighting between the pro-Western government and Hezbollah-led opposition has left Lebanon without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down in November 2007. (dpa)