President Michel Suleiman is awaiting a sign from Paris on the results of French President Francois Hollande's talks with Saudi King Abdullah on the Lebanese crisis, sources close to Baabda Palace said Tuesday.

The sources told An Nahar daily however that Suleiman is hinging on the possibility of finding a solution to the cabinet crisis at the national dialogue table by agreeing on the formation of a new government and avoiding a vacuum.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns on Monday telephoned Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, asking him to help in forming a new government while avoiding a power vacuum in the country, the PSP said in a statement.

“Jumblat reiterated his stance that he does not mind an agreement on forming a new government, noting that that is only possible through supporting President Michel Suleiman's efforts and his nonstop endeavor to keep dialogue channels open among the Lebanese parties and to mend the severed ties that only worsen the stalemate,” the PSP added.

The Phalange Party called on the government on Monday to recognize its “incompetence” and end the crisis that is negatively affecting the Lebanese people.

It said after its weekly politburo meeting: “All powers must facilitate the role of President Michel Suleiman and work according to the constitution to produce a salvation government as soon as possible.”

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov condemned on Monday the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan on October 19 in Beirut's district of Ashrafiyeh.

Addressing claims that Bulgarian explosives were used in the blast, he said: “We condemn some sides' attempts to drag Bulgaria's name in the matter.”

French Ambassador to Lebanon Patrice Paoli paid respect to slain Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan on Monday by laying a wreath at his grave upon the request of President Francois Hollande.

Hollande's visit to Beirut on Sunday was aimed at “expressing solidarity with Lebanon and honoring a great Lebanese, a man who devoted his life to his nation, to search for the truth and protect all the Lebanese,” Paoli said after he laid the wreath at al-Hasan's tomb at al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut.

The head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora stated on Monday that the current government “is causing a problem in Lebanon that needs to be tackled.”

He reiterated after holding talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi the need for the formation of a new government, stressing: “The constitution stipulates that there can be no power vacuum in Lebanon.”

A Lebanese man was killed after a shell hit a Syrian town that borders the Hermel district in Lebanon's northeast, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

Bassel Ahmed al-Haq, 22, died on Sunday night when the shell hit an area near his parents' house in the Syrian town of al-Sefsaf that borders the Lebanese village of Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali in Hermel.

France and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement to indefinitely exclude Prime Minister Najib Miqati from the Lebanese premiership if a new government is formed, diplomatic sources said Monday.

The sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper that the deal was reached between French President Francois Hollande and Saudi King Abdullah during talks in Jeddah attended by former Lebanese Premier Saad Hariri, who is the head of the opposition al-Mustaqbal movement.

President Michel Suleiman is planning to travel to Rome on November 24 to attend the ceremony that would officially appoint Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi as a new cardinal in the Catholic church, As Safir daily reported on Monday.

The newspaper also said that Suleiman could meet with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the Vatican.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said French President Francois Hollande's meeting with President Michel Suleiman during his visit to Beirut reflected a French stance that Paris rejects to deal with the current cabinet.

In an interview with al-Joumhouria daily on Monday, Geagea stressed that avoiding any meeting with the cabinet members will gradually lead to isolating the government, and only then will the officials become convinced that their cabinet is impossible to remain.