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ISTANBUL, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will go to Damascus on Monday to discuss with Syrian and Qatari leaders how to help prevent Lebanon sliding deeper into crisis, a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday.
The 14-month-old unity government of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri collapsed on Wednesday after ministers from the Hezbollah movement and its allies quit.
The resignations followed the failure of regional powers Saudi Arabia and Syria to forge a deal to reduce tension over the U.N.-backed investigation into the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, statesman Rafik al Hariri.
Erdogan will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Turkish foreign ministry spokesman told journalists travelling with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to Iraq, the Anatolian news agency reported.
After leaving Baghdad, Davutoglu will join his prime minister in Damascus, and meet Syrian and Qatari officials.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman was to begin consultations on Monday to form a new government, but it was unclear whether Hariri will be a candidate for premiership.
Reduced to a caretaker role, Hariri visited Ankara on Friday to seek support from the Turkish prime minister.
While the Shi'ite Hezbollah movement are backed by Iran and Syria, Hariri's followers are mostly Sunni Muslims and he has backing from Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Turkey, like other nearby countries, fears instability in Lebanon could have consequences in the Middle East region.
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