The United States voiced hope Thursday that a new government could be decided soon in Lebanon but said it had "no immediate" concern about the delay in forming one, AFP reported.
In Beirut, Saad Hariri announced he was stepping down as Lebanon's prime minister-designate, accusing the Hezbollah-led opposition of blocking weeks of efforts to unlock a political stalemate. His announcement came after Hezbollah on Monday rejected his proposed cabinet line-up.
"We hope that both sides will resolve the impasse quickly and respect the process that's outlined in the Lebanese constitution, put together a government," the State Department's Philip J. Crowley told reporters.
"We would like to see a government put in place sooner rather than later," the assistant secretary of state for public affairs said.
"I don't think we have an immediate concern, but we certainly hope all the parties in the Lebanon will engage peacefully and appropriately because it's important that they put a government in place."
During the June 7 legislative elections, the coalition led by Hariri obtained 71 of 128 seats in the parliament, compared to 57 for the Hezbollah-led camp.
Formation of a unity government has been pressed by Hezbollah, which refuses to allow the US and Saudi-backed majority to make major national decisions, particularly on the delicate issue of the Shiite movement's military arsenal.
The failure to form a government has aroused fears of a new political crisis in Lebanon, which has been calm for more than a year.
A political crisis erupted in 2006 after all Shiite ministers resigned from the cabinet. It degenerated in May 2008 when sectarian fighting broke out in Beirut, in the worst bloodshed since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
The crisis was resolved the same month when Qatar brokered a deal for the formation of a national unity government.