The Bush administration has sought to put a positive spin on a deal between Lebanon's feuding factions, which it says is vital to short-term stability even though it gives the militant Hezbollah movement more power.

“We view this agreement as a positive step toward resolving the current crisis,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement released before she called embattled Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to express US support for his government.

“We call upon all Lebanese leaders to implement this agreement in its entirety,” Rice said.

At the same time, administration officials were cool to an announcement by Israel and Syria that they have resumed indirect peace talks and made clear the United States remains focused on the Israeli-Palestinian track that Rice said is "more mature" and more likely at the moment to produce results.

In a hastily convened news conference called to discuss the developments, the top US diplomat for the Middle East acknowledged that the Arab-mediated Lebanon agreement, which boosts Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah and gives it veto power over any government decision, is imperfect. He welcomed it, however, as a "necessary and positive" step to end violence and the country's political crisis.

Lebanon has been paralyzed for the past 18 months, with the selection of a new president blocked. Deadly street fighting erupted in Beirut this month when Hezbollah gunmen took over parts of the capital.