Beirut - The second round of Lebanon's national dialogue aimed at ending differences between the rival Lebanese factions and discussing the fate of Hezbollah arms started Wednesday, official Lebanese sources said.

They said the issue of increasing the number of participants in the dialogue would top the agenda of the talks held in the Lebanese Presidential Palace, 15 kilometres east of Beirut.

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.

Also topping the agenda of the talks, in which 14 politicians are participating, are efforts 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. (dpa)