BEIRUT, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said Tuesday that more time is needed to form a new government in Lebanon.
"There is no progress yet in the government formation, but at least there is no more tension among the different political parties," Hariri was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an independent online newspaper.
Hariri said that some political parties are insisting on their cabinet share, but each party is making compromise in order to reach a consensus.
Hariri is facing various hurdles in his attempt to form a 30-member national unity government, due to the rifts among rival politicians over the representation of the main Christian parties, as well as the Druze sect.
A senior Hezbollah official accused "embassies of regional countries" of delaying the formation of Lebanese government, the National News Agency reported earlier.
The official said that some foreign embassies were "pressing political parties to raise the ceiling of their demands," thus hindering the government formation.
However, Hariri denied these allegations, saying that the problems that have delayed the government formation are strictly internal.
"The regional situation has nothing to do with the government formation in Lebanon," he said, while emphasizing that Lebanon's relationship with Saudi Arabia is very good and the kingdom is keen on accelerating the cabinet formation.
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.
