Talks end with no date for unity gov't

TALKS END: Siniora (pictured) has refused to set a date for forming Lebanon's unity government. (Getty Images)

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora wrapped up two days of talks with leaders of rival parliamentary blocs on Saturday on forming a national unity government but gave no date for a new line-up.

"I am not setting any specific date," Siniora said of his efforts to form a new government after a deal last week between rival politicians ended an 18-month crisis that erupted into street battles that killed 65 people.

Siniora is due to brief President Michel Sleiman on the results of his talks with lawmakers from the Western- and Saudi-backed ruling parliamentary majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition backed by Syria and Iran.

"We want the government to reflect Lebanese consensus and the [terms] of the Doha accord, and I will strive to do that in the next few days," said Siniora, who was reappointed on Wednesday by Sleiman and asked to form a new cabinet.

The premier also said he will hold more discussions with the main players from the opposition and majority camps before announcing his line-up.

Sleiman was elected last Sunday as part of the May 21 accord brokered by the Arab League in the Gulf state of Qatar. The agreement also called for a new electoral law before parliamentary elections due next year.

Under the Doha deal, the ruling bloc will have 16 seats in the new cabinet and the opposition will have 11, with the president appointing three ministers.

Cabinet seats are allocated to allow each major sect representation, as well as splitting seats equally between Muslim and Christian sects.

Siniora's previous government was deemed illegitimate by the opposition which pulled its six ministers from the cabinet in November 2006 over demands for greater representation, triggering the lengthy standoff.

The crisis turned violent in May when gunmen led by the Shi-ite Hezbollah clashed with pro-government forces and briefly seized Sunni areas of west Beirut.

The deadly fighting was the worst sectarian unrest in Lebanon since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

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