Tammam Salam was welcomed on Monday by staff members after he arrived at the Grand Serail to begin his work as Lebanon's new prime minister.

Salam, who formed his 24-member all-embracing government after a ten month deadlock, was accompanied by Environment Minister Mohammed Mashnouq.

The Associated Press removed a government-produced picture of Lebanese officials posing with members of the new cabinet after learning of the photograph's manipulation.

After learning of the photograph's manipulation on Sunday, the AP removed the image from its archives and issued an advisory to customers not to use it.

Speaker Nabih Berri lauded on Monday Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet, describing it as “the best we can achieve amid the critical situation the country is passing through."

“The cabinet isn't technical nor neutral... It is a political government based on delicate balances,” Barri said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

The newly-formed government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam faces this week the first test to form a committee tasked with drafting the policy statement, which could be a source of contention between the rival parties.

The first cabinet session will be held under President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace on Tuesday to form the committee, whose mission is to draft the policy statement in less than a month.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stressed on Monday that he is seeking to ease the troubles of the Lebanese people, voicing hope that the March 8 and 14 alliance would bridge the gap and amend ties.

“We are seeking to ease tension in the country and relief people,” Salam said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday blamed “those who wanted to eliminate Hizbullah from any government” for the 11-month deadlock in the cabinet formation process, describing the cabinet that was announced Saturday by Prime Minister Tammam Salam as a “settlement cabinet.”

“Every person can evaluate the outcome of the cabinet formation process the way they like, whether it is positive or negative, and we respect all opinions,” said Nasrallah in a televised speech commemorating “Hizbullah's martyr leaders” Sayyed Abbas al-Moussawi, Sheikh Ragheb Harb and military commander Imad Mughniyeh.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition on Sunday congratulated Prime Minister Tammam Salam on the formation of the cabinet after an 11-month deadlock, urging the new government to “withdraw Hizbullah's militias” from Syria.

“In its name and in the name of the Syrian people, the Syrian National Coalition congratulates Lebanese premier Mr. Tammam Salam and the entire brotherly Lebanese people on the formation of the new Lebanese cabinet,” the Coalition said in a statement.

MP Mohammed Raad, the head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc, reassured Sunday that the party will not “betray our people's national dignity” through its participation in Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet, which was formed Saturday after an 11-month impasse.

“We demanded an all-embracing cabinet because the others wanted an eliminationist, neutral and de facto cabinets,” Raad said during a memorial service in the southern town of Aitaroun.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has lauded President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Tammam Salam over the formation of the new cabinet after an 11-month deadlock, hailing “the Lebanese Army which has spared Lebanon major disasters.”

“We had prayed for a new cabinet that opens the door for resolving the numerous crises in Lebanon and contributes to facilitating the election of a new president within the constitutional timeframe,” al-Rahi said in a speech at an annual ceremony marking Saint Maron's Day in Rome on Saturday evening.

President Michel Suleiman urged on Sunday the International Support Group for Lebanon to meet its pledges during meetings expected to be held in France and Italy.

“The international cover should be provided to enable the Lebanese army to acquire its needs through Saudi Arabia's grant to the military to obtain French arms,” Suleiman said during a telephone conversation with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.