Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed on Monday night a national unity government needs to be formed to end the political split between the ruling majority and the opposition, local daily Al-Akhbar daily reported Tuesday.

"We hope to open a new page to form a national unity cabinet in which everyone is represented...I hope that the division would come to an end," Hariri told reporters at the end of a long marathon consultations day with various parliamentary blocks.,

Hariri, who was designated Saturday by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman as the prime minister to form a new cabinet, expressed his openness to all proposals regarding the shape of the new cabinet and highlighted the importance of "dialogue in building trust among the Lebanese."

"We heard the opinions of all the Lebanese citizens who cast their ballots on June 7, we should unite these opinions in the interests of the country," he added.

The parliamentary elections on June 7 gave 71 seats to Hariri's majority in Parliament, while the Hezbollah-led opposition and its ally Christian leader Michel Aoun got 57 seats.

The formation of a new national unity government is a tough task for Hariri who is trying to have all rival Lebanese groups represented in it.

However, the opposition insists on having the veto power in the cabinet which represents one third of the seats plus one, while the ruling majority believes the veto power hinders the cabinet performance.

The new prime minister is scheduled to meet with Suleiman to discuss the shape of the new cabinet, according to Al-Akhbar daily.

He is expected to brief Suleiman on the outcomes of his consultations and discuss with him the various cabinet formulas, the report added.

Well-informed sources told Al-Akhbar Monday that a new cabinet is likely to come out in two or three weeks.

Source: Xinhua