Government Beirut's business, Hariri says

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 6 (UPI) -- Forming the next government in Lebanon is strictly an internal affair to be held outside the din of the news media, said Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri.

"The Lebanese Cabinet is being formed in Lebanon," the presumptive prime minister said.

His comments come during a series of high-level talks between the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Syria. Syrian influence loomed large in Lebanese affairs prior to the 2005 Cedar Revolution that ended the decades-long civil conflict in Lebanon.

Hariri said he welcomed negotiations with his Syrian counterparts "when the time is right," the Lebanese Daily Star reports.

The Cedar Revolution came on the heels of the assassination of Saad Hariri's father, Rafik Hariri, in a massive suicide bombing in downtown Beirut in February 2005. Syrian authorities are suspected of playing a role in that operation.

Saad Hariri was appointed as the next Lebanese prime minister following his nomination by 85 of the 128 members of the Lebanese Parliament in June.

Hariri led his Western-backed March 14 slate to victory over the pro-Syrian March 8 opposition group in the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Analysts expected Beirut to face challenges in forming a unity government regardless of the victor in the June 7 contest, though Hariri pledged to work swiftly to convene the next government.