However, members of Hezbollah, the Shi'ite group at the heart of the Lebanese opposition, gave a more cautious response to the plan, which says a national unity government should be formed in such a way that no one party can impose or block any decision.

Lebanon has not had a president since November 23, 2007 initially because of disagreements over who should hold the post, more recently over the details of a new national unity cabinet.

The plan, approved by Arab foreign ministers at a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, endorses the choice of army chief General Michel Suleiman as the next president of Lebanon and says that he should be the arbiter in any contested decisions.

Leader of the Lebanese parliamentary majority, Saad al-Hariri, welcomed the plan. “The declaration by the Arab foreign ministers presents the Lebanese with a new chance to elect a consensus president and fill the presidency,” he said.

The Lebanese parliament is set to try for a 12^th time to confirm Mr Suleiman as president on January 12 but until the Arab ministers came up with their plan it looked unlikely to succeed.

The plan says the election of Mr Suleiman as president should take place immediately, along with an immediate agreement to form a national unity government. After the election of the president and the formation of a government, work should start on drafting a new law governing parliamentary elections, it says.