KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah assured a group of Kuwaiti lawmakers on Wednesday that he will not dissolve parliament as a result of its showdown with the government. "We heard from the emir that he was keen for democracy and the national assembly and that it should complete its (four-year) term," speaker Jassem al-Khorafi told reporters after the meeting. "The National Assembly will continue with its business as usual," added Khorafi, who earlier in the day led a group of 20 MPs to a meeting with the emir, a day after a new political crisis erupted in this Gulf state.

Cabinet members, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmad al-Sabah, walked out of a parliamentary session on Tuesday as MPs were due to set a date for grilling the premier.

Sheikh Nasser later submitted his resignation to the emir.

The move raised the prospect of parliament being dissolved for the third time in as many years. The parliament was elected only in May.

Khorafi hinted at the possibility that the emir could accept the resignation and order the formation of a new cabinet, which would be the fifth under Sheikh Nasser, who was appointed to the post in February 2006.

The 50-member parliament was dissolved in May 2006 and March 2008, following similar confrontations between MPs and the government.

The political crisis, however, remained unresolved on Wednesday as the three Islamist MPs, who filed to question the prime minister, shrugged off pressure to withdraw the grilling which triggered the latest dispute.