An EU troika delegation in Beirut Friday met and held talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Naguib Mikati to press for a fair and free elections in the country.

The EU delegation comprised ambassadors of the Netherlands holding the EU presidency, Britain and the EU mission in Lebanon.

According to an official statement after the talks, the EU delegation expressed support for Mikati's efforts to hold the general elections on time.

The statement said the EU pins high hopes on the Lebanese government to hold fair and free elections to secure a better future, adding the EU delegation urged for sending international observers to monitor the Lebanese elections.

Meanwhile��the EU delegation also called on the Lebanese government to entirely cooperate with a UN fact-finding mission investigating into the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

Lebanon has been plunged into a political upheaval since Hariri's killing on Feb. 14, which triggered popular anti-Syrian protest across the country.

The pro-Syrian government led by Omar Karami was forces to resign late February and Syria, under mounting international pressure, began withdrawing its 14,000 troops from Lebanon, which it deployed in 1976 to intervene in Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

Mikati, who announced the formation of a new government earlier this week, reiterated the government's commitment to hold a parliamentary election by May, as demanded by the opposition and the international community.

An international investigation committee has been set up by the UN Security Council to probe Hariri's death after a UN fact-finding group revealed earlier this month that there were gaping flaws in a previous Lebanon's investigation into the case.

Source: Xinhua