The joint parliamentary committees convened on Wednesday to tackle the government-approved electoral law.

Media reports said however that the session was later suspended over a lack of quorum when opposition MPs withdrew from the meeting.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat called on Monday for committing to the Taef accord as “an interpretation of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Lebanon.”

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “The Lebanese people are obligated to double their efforts in order to implement the Apostolic Exhortation in order to remove fears of a large number of Lebanese, especially Christians, in order to eliminate the concept of minorities.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat hoped on Tuesday that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's visit to Mount Lebanon over the weekend would “pave the way to further cooperation and coordination in matters that benefit the region and all of its residents.”

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “Al-Rahi's visit was a success on all levels.”

Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi kicked off on Saturday a two-day pastoral visit to the region of Chouf as he is expected to hold talks with Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblat.

He stressed that the Lebanese are raised on coexistence among each other, urging citizens to preserve the national unity based on the “spirit of love and partnership.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri rejected accusations that the March 14 camp is arming the Syrian opposition, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Saturday.

He told the daily: “We provide it with humanitarian and political support.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Wednesday that his ties with the Hariri family date back to the days when slain former Premier Rafik Hariri was in power and they have continued to this day with his son and former PM Saad Hariri.

The PSP said in a statement: “Our common struggle and political relationship with the Hariri family transcend differences.”

Former prime minister Saad Hariri met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat in Paris on Tuesday and discussed with him the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, Hariri’s office said.

The meeting is the first between the two officials since the government of Hariri was toppled in December 2011 and the formation of a cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to hold a meeting soon with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat in Paris, An Nahar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The daily said that the first meeting between the two officials since the government of Hariri was toppled in December 2011 and the formation of a cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Miqati, is likely to be held on Tuesday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stated on Monday that the latest positions on Syria indicate that a regional and international conspiracy has been devised against the Syrian people.

He noted in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine the “suspicious American and Russian interests in Syria” as demonstrated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s remarks that the Syrian army will not withdraw from the cities and Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey’s refusal to impose a no-fly zone over Syria.

The Progressive Socialist Party on Friday staged a demonstration demanding the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali and the summoning of the Syrian officers who are “involved” in the case of former minister Michel Samaha.

Members of the party’s youth organization gathered at 7:00 p.m. at the Samir Kassir Garden in downtown Beirut under the slogan “In rejection of the massacres being committed against the Syrian people.”