By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.N. diplomats expressed cautious optimism on Monday that the Security Council would endorse a plan for an international court to try suspects in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Agreement on the draft plan could come as soon as Tuesday in the form of a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, cleared by all 15 council members, the diplomats said.

A green light could take longer if changes in the letter, which was not yet drafted, were demanded by Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who told reporters it might need editing.

Churkin last week questioned whether Lebanon's political crisis should be considered in weighing the tribunal plan.

Lebanon's anti-Syrian government, led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and its pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, are divided over the plan, which requires formal Lebanese approval before the new tribunal can actually be set up.

The central question was whether formal approval meant only a vote of the Lebanese parliament, or also the signature of the president, and some in Lebanon have expressed concern the dispute could bring down their government.

"The government of Lebanon will decide that question," said U.S. Ambassador John Bolton. The Security Council's role was solely "to approve the agreement and see then if the government of Lebanon, in its turn, approves it," he told reporters.

Hariri was killed by a suicide truck bombing in Beirut in February 2005, shortly after speaking out against Syrian domination of his country.

Many Lebanese blamed his death on Damascus, sparking anti-Syrian protests and eventually the end of Syria's long-running military presence in Lebanon.

A U.N. investigation, which is continuing, has implicated Lebanese and Syrian security officials, although Syria denies any role in the bombing.

The United Nations developed plans for an international court after Siniora told Annan that his country's justice system could not handle the case.

Annan sent a draft plan to the government this month, but six opposition ministers resigned before it could be taken up.

The remaining ministers endorsed the court blueprint last week and sent it back to Annan and the Security Council for final U.N. approval.

But Lahoud promptly wrote Annan that the Cabinet action had been illegitimate.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah escalated the confrontation over the weekend, calling on his followers to prepare for peaceful protests to topple what he described as Lebanon's U.S.-dominated government.

During closed-door council talks on Monday, Russia and Qatar questioned whether Lebanon's government crisis and the possibility of violence in the streets should be considered.

But council members ultimately agreed that it was up to the government how to handle the crisis.

"There was a general agreement in the council that it was not for the council to enter into any internal discussion in Lebanon. This is not our task," French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere told reporters.

"It is for the Lebanese, if they have a problem, to solve it," de la Sabliere said.

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