BEIRUT, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri denied Thursday the allegations that the government formation is delayed due to international intervention.
"There is no foreign intervention in the government formation and the problem is strictly internal," Hariri was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.
A senior Hezbollah official accused "embassies of regional countries" of delaying the formation of Lebanese government, the National News Agency reported Monday.
The official said that some foreign embassies were "pressing political parties to raise the ceiling of their demands," thus hindering the government formation, the report said.
Hariri said that the delay was because every political party is insisting on its cabinet's share.
"I call upon all political parties to think about the interest of the country before worrying about their shares in the cabinet," he said following his meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Hariri also expressed his hope that the government formation would take place in the coming few days because the economic situation has become very difficult.
Berri warned last month that the country's economy will deteriorate if the new government is not formed soon.
Lebanon held the first general election in nine years on May 6. Despite the big loss of its seats in the parliament by his party, the Future Movement, Hariri is backed by most of the new parliament members to continue to serve as the prime minister.
