Lebanese President Emile Lahoud refused Wednesday an invitation by Prime Minister Fouad Seniora to hold a cabinet meeting next Thursday to discuss the program for future reforms.

The program will be referred to the International Conference for supporting Lebanon (Paris III) slated in the French capital Paris on Jan. 25.

A Presidential statement said, the government invitation was unconstitutional and the president called again for the establishment of a national unity government.

Lahoud also noted through the statement that it was important not to rush things up regarding an important issue which requires consultations with all Lebanese people.

Seniora announced on Tuesday that the reform program, which would be presented to the Paris III conference, would include six main articles aimed at reviving the country's social and economic sectors.

Lahoud, a close ally of Hezbollah, has reiterated that Seniora's government was not legitimate anymore after the resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers in Nov. 2005 when Seniora and the anti- Syrian majority in parliament rejected the opposition's demand for a new national unity government.

Source: Xinhua