Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati stressed on openness and dialogue and said he was comfortable at the local atmosphere and the prospect of ties with the Arab world and the international community.

In remarks to An Nahar and al-Hayat newspapers on Thursday, Miqati described regional and international reactions to his mission as “very good.”

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice accused Hizbullah and Syria of using "intimidation, pressure and threats of violence" to make wealthy businessman Najib Miqati prime minister.

"Of course we are closely following events in Lebanon. It is now up to the Lebanese to determine how to form their own government, " Rice said in response to a question.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Lebanese rather than foreigners should decide the country's future.

The United States has warned of effects on bilateral relations after billionaire businessman Najib Miqati was named premier-designate with the support of Hizbullah and its allies.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati concluded his protocol visits to past prime ministers by meeting former premier Saad Hariri at the Center House on Wednesday.

The meeting lasted five minutes and the two men made no statements afterwards.

Syria's daily Al-Watan, which is close to the Damascus government, on Wednesday expressed its support for Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati and said he would bring change to the region.

The newspaper added that Lebanon had finally "uncovered the plot" hatched by the West to exploit the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) investigating the murder of former premier Rafik Hariri.

The March 14 general-secretariat announced on Wednesday its rejection of a future government that aims at abolishing the international tribunal and tolerating weapons.

“We won’t accept the cabinet because it will come to abolish the court and tolerate weapons,” said general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid.

Two prominent Saudi writers criticized outgoing Lebanese premier Saad Hariri in editorials published on Wednesday, saying his supporters used sectarian language and acted like Hizbullah with violent protests.

In an editorial in Saudi-owned al-Hayat entitled "The Lebanese Opposition Cloned,” Daud al-Shiryan wrote that Hariri's bloc, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, had "used the same methods" on Tuesday as his opponents in Hizbullah and allied parties.

A tense calm returned to Lebanon on Wednesday after violent daylong demonstrations across the country left 45 people wounded.

An-Nahar newspaper on Wednesday said among the injured was 35 Lebanese army soldiers, two policemen and 8 civilians.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri believed that whoever killed his father does not want him to be in power.

“Whoever killed Rafik Hariri in 2005 doesn’t want Saad Hariri to be in power,” Hariri said in an interview with the New York Times.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati, who has vowed to maintain national unity, will start consultations to form a new government after President Michel Suleiman appointed him Lebanon's new premier.

Miqati's appointment on Tuesday came amid a "day of rage" by fellow Sunnis who accused him of being a traitor to his sect and betraying former PM Saad Hariri.