DAMASCUS, (AFP) — Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt was in Damascus on Saturday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad on the political crisis sparked by the collapse of Saad Hariri’s government in Lebanon, state news agency SANA reported.

Political experts say Jumblatt’s party could play a critical role in the jockeying to form a new cabinet.

Syria, the former powerbroker in neighbouring Lebanon, has so far remained silent on the crisis.

The two men stressed the “importance of staying aware of the risks foreign interventions carry in the region and that the region’s inhabitants be the ones to make decisions and reach solutions.”

Hariri’s government collapsed on Wednesday following the resignation of ministers from Shiite party Hezbollah and its allies.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman will begin holding consultations with parliamentary blocs on Monday aimed at forming a new government, and Jumblatt will be the first to meet him.