Beirut  - The second round of Lebanon's national dialogue aimed at ending differences between rival political factions and discussing the fate of Hezbollah arms was adjourned Wednesday after one of the participants fell ill.

"MP Ghassan Tueini, from the ruling majority and also owner of the daily An Nahar newspaper fell ill during the session and was transferred to the hospital," an official taking part in the talks told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"The session was adjourned until December 22," the source said, adding that the date had been picked to accommodate President Michel Suleiman's busy schedule.

Another source close to the talks said the issue of increasing the number of participants in the dialogue topped the agenda on Wednesday at the gathering in the Lebanese Presidential Palace, 15 kilometres east of Beirut.

According to the source, the opposition led by Hezbollah wants to expand the dialogue to include allied figures such as Marada Movement leader Sleiman Franjieh, Youth and Sports Minister Talal Arslan and former Prime Minister Omar Karami, all of whom are Syria's men in Lebanon.

For its part, the majority March 14 bloc opposes the expansion of the dialogue, arguing that it would complicate the dialogue and delaying essential agreements.

An agreement reached by the rival factions on May 21, 2008, in Doha, Qatar, marked the end of an 18-month long political crisis and ended seven days of bloody clashes between followers loyal to the majority and the opposition.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea who is a member of the ruling majority accused Wednesday "those (from the opposition) who are demanding to increase the number of participants want to waste time and distract us from the dialogue's main purpose," he said.

The initial agenda of the talks for Wednesday, in which 14 politicians participated, was aimed at trying to forge a national defence strategy for Lebanon.

But a major stumbling block has been the thorny issue of the weapons belonging to the radical Shiite Hezbollah movement.

Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm, arguing that its weapons and militia are essential to defend the country against neighbouring Israel.

However, members of the Western-backed majority in parliament argue that Hezbollah's weapons undermine the authority of the state, which should be the sole decision-maker on matters of defence.

Shiite House Speaker Nabih Berri, who belongs to the Hezbollah-led opposition, was quoted Wednesday as saying, "We will enter the session with a good spirit and discuss the ideas and proposals on the defence strategy in ways that reinforce and protect the country."

The first session of the national dialogue took place on September 16.

The 50 days that have separated the two sessions have seen a number of reconciliations between various Lebanese factions that helped ease sectarian tensions, especially on the streets of Beirut.

Among these was a meeting between Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and ruling majority bloc leader Saad Hariri. (dpa)