He said: "I want to say very clearly that, maybe for the first time in more than 30 years, a government in Lebanon is being formed through purely Lebanese efforts, and this is what made us take our time in forming the Cabinet."

Siniora said he will visit Baabda Palace soon to present President Emile Lahoud with a new line-up for his Cabinet.

Sources close to Siniora said the Foreign Ministry post, which was hindering the make up of the new Cabinet, was solved as an agreement

was reached to allocate the portfolio to former Ambassador Fawzi Salloukh.

Salloukh is a Shiite with the blessing of both Hizbullah and Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal Movement. Both parties have been insistent on the portfolio as it is seen as key to facing mounting international pressure on the Islamic resistance group to disarm.

But a source close to Lahoud told The Daily Star the president was as of yet unrepresented in the Cabinet, something which may threaten Siniora's line-up.

The source said: "The president has no clue on the course of the formation of the Cabinet; he only knows about it from the news."

The source added that as long as Lahoud's demands are not met the Cabinet is not likely to see the light of day any time soon.

It is understood Lahoud is asking for two posts to be allocated to his allies; the first being the Defense Ministry, which he is demanding be allocated to his son-in-law Elias Murr, and the second the Information Ministry, which he wants to be given to incumbent minister Charles Rizk.

If Lahoud's demands are not met he could constitutionally abstain from signing a decree to form the Cabinet, and leave the country in a state of continued political uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Free Patriotic Movement MPs Ibrahim Kenaan and Farid Khazen met with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, with Kenaan reaffirming the FPM's decision to take part in the next government.

He said: "We discussed with his eminence the issue of forming a Cabinet and informed him of the course of the meeting that took place between General Aoun and Saad Hariri."

Aoun agreed to take part in the Cabinet on Sunday following a meeting with Hariri at the latter's Koreitem residence, thereby solving a major obstacle that had been facing the Cabinet's formation.

The meeting between the two men resulted in allocating the Justice Ministry portfolio to an FPM member, a non-negotiable demand by Aoun.

The agreement was further asserted during a meeting of Aoun's Reform and Change parliamentary bloc, after which Zahle MP Hassan Yacoub said the bloc will work on any obstacles that might face the cooperation with Hariri's Future Movement.

Kenaan said the agreement between Aoun and Hariri has opened the door to "true cooperation" between the various political factions in Lebanon.

He said: "What happened yesterday was one step forward, and everybody is taking part in it."

Meanwhile, Hizbullah MP Qassem Hashem said the ministerial statement of the anticipated government should include a clause asserting the protection of the resistance.

Hashem said: "We are still being threatened by the Israeli aggression in the South, which is why there is still a need for the resistance and its role."

He further criticized foreign interference in forming the Cabinet. "It is unacceptable that the U.S. vetoes some names and interferes in internal details in forming the Cabinet. We hope the Cabinet is 100 percent Lebanese made and free from foreign meddling." - Daily Star