Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated that the government formation process was not facing obstacles and expected the cabinet line-up to be ready this week.

Berri told As Safir daily in comments published Wednesday that Premier-designate Najib Miqati would “form the cabinet this week after some parties refused to join the national salvation government.”

Speaker Nabih Berri said Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s cabinet will see light this week but lamented that the March 14 forces refused to take part in the government.

“Unfortunately, it seems that some parties don’t want to participate in the national salvation cabinet. This has been announced by Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel,” Berri told Voice of Lebanon, Voice of Freedom and Dignity, radio station.

Speaker Nabih Berri arrived in Qatar Sunday to take part in the 17th Conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union which will be held in Doha on Monday and Tuesday.

The house speaker was accompanied by MPs Nicola Fattoush, Michel Moussa and Hagop Pakradounian.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati on Saturday continued to face obstacles to his cabinet formation process over the Christian representation, a scenario that Lebanese governments have witnessed since 2005.

Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted sources following up contacts to form the government as saying that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun is rejecting to give shares to President Michel Suleiman and wants a homogenous 30-member cabinet that only includes the March 8 forces.

Speaker Nabih Berri said Wednesday that he favored the participation of all parties in the cabinet without setting prior conditions on the shares of each side.

Following talks with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace, Berri said that “all former opposition parties support the premier-designate.”

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed to Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday the need for the formation of a cabinet that has “the broadest possible base.”

“I underlined with the speaker the need for the new government to have the broadest possible base and to represent the interests of all Lebanese,” Williams said after meeting Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has given himself three days to conduct consultations with major March 14 parties to receive a final answer from them on whether they want to participate in his government or not, a high-ranking March 8 official said.

The official’s visitors told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that Miqati’s consultations have already started with a meeting with Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel.

Speaker Nabih Berri snapped back at former Premier Saad Hariri on Monday rejecting accusations that Syria and Iran have brought down his government.

Hariri said Saturday that "enormous" pressure from outside Lebanon was to blame for the collapse of his cabinet earlier this month.

Prime Minister Designate Najib Miqati and the March 8 forces are making strong efforts to distribute portfolios among the alliance’s members excluding the March 14 forces, An Nahar daily reported Sunday.

The newspaper said that former Minister Naji Boustani would most likely have a portfolio from President Michel Suleiman’s share in the government. Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun is also seeking to bring back Jebran Bassil and Charbel Nahhas to the cabinet, it said.

Speaker Nabih Berri said he told PM-designate Najib Miqati that the March 8 forces would facilitate the government formation process that should not take more than a week or two if former Premier Saad Hariri’s camp wants to take part in the new cabinet.

In remarks to An Nahar and As Safir newspapers published Friday, Berri said the government should be formed “as soon as possible” to give the green light to projects that would help the Lebanese overcome their crises.