BRUSSELS (AP) -- Belgium's king refused to accept the resignation of the prime minister and his government Thursday, calling on key officials to redouble efforts to resolve an longtime disagreement over more self-rule for the country's Dutch and French speakers.

King Albert II asked politicians from both language camps to help sort out a deepening split over reforms that threatens to tear apart this nation of 6.5 million.
He called for a ""credible"" dialogue about more regional autonomy, and rejected for now Monday's resignation of the government of Prime Minister Yves Leterme.
The royal palace said in a statement that the monarch asked Leterme ""to encourage as best as is possible"" chances of launching a constitutional reform debate.
Leterme offered the resignation after he failed to get his cabinet — an unwieldy alliance of Christian Democrats, Liberals, Socialists and nationalist hard-liners from both language camps that took office March 20 — to agree on a future together by devolving more federal powers to Flanders and Wallonia.
Efforts to grant Belgium's Dutch and French-speaking communities more self-rule began in the 1970s. Since then education, housing, trade, tourism, agriculture and other areas were shifted from the federal government, while Dutch-speaking Flanders, Francophone Wallonia and bilingual Brussels were given regional governments and parliaments.
Now Francophone parties accuse Dutch-speakers of trying to separate themselves completely.
Flemish parties want their more prosperous, Dutch-speaking northern half of the country to be more autonomous by shifting corporate and other taxes, some social security measures, transport, health, labor and justice matters to the language regions.