Lebanon's rival political leaders gathered for a second round of national dialogue at the presidential palace on Wednesday and decided to put it off until Dec. 22.

The session under the auspices of President Michel Suleiman, broke off when MP Ghassan Tuieni had to be rushed to hospital for health problems, which proved later not serious, local Elnashra website reported.

A statement released by the presidency following the meeting said the leaders agreed to allow more contacts and consultations to be carried out by President Suleiman.

"The commitment to calming dawn media campaigns and encouraging reconciliations" was agreed upon, the statement said, adding that "discussions of a national defense strategy should continue."

Pro-government leaders have been keen on discussing the national defense strategy, which deals with Shiite militant group Hezbollah's arsenal, during the dialogue sessions.

Hezbollah, however, had made it clear that the subject of their weapons is not for discussion as long as Israel poses a threat to Lebanon.

The first round of the national dialogue was held in September in line with the Doha accord signed by rival Lebanese leaders on May 21 in Qatar, which put an end to a 18-month-long political standoff that dragged the country to the brink of war.

The Doha accord was reached following a week of fierce clashes in Beirut between pro-government supporters and the Hezbollah-led opposition.