Amid growing speculation that he is planning to split from the Likud party which he has led for the past six years, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres on Sunday that he expects to work with him in the future.

"Shimon, this is the beginning of our joint work," Sharon told the 82-year-old Peres during Sunday's cabinet meeting.

"I won't let you...turn away from completing the mission you are destined for. I will call on your assistance in the future," Sharon said.

The comments strengthened speculations that the 77-year-old Sharon intends to break away from the rightist Likud and form a new centrist party.

Ministers said Sharon's statements signalled that he intends to include Peres should he form a new party ahead of the general elections, which now look likely to be held at the end of March.

Commenting on Sharon's possible departure from the Likud, one Sharon associate said "Sharon is delaying his decision, because it is dramatic and fateful both from his perspective and from a political perspective."

Faced with the prospect of Sharon's departure, Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz joined a list of senior party members on Sunday who have expressed interest in running for the Likud leadership should Sharon decide to quit.

The list of potential candidates has grown long in recent days, with Knesset member Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Knesset member Uzi Landau and Education Minister Limor Livnat all being touted as possible candidates.

Source: Xinhua