Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stressed on Saturday after concluding the consultations with lawmakers to form a new government that the atmospheres were generally positive, as he assured that joint cooperation with President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri continue in that regard.

“I will brief the President as for the consultations. All the atmospheres are positive since we all want to form a new government as fast as possible,” said Hariri.

French President Francois Hollande said that the election of General Michel Aoun as head of the Lebanese republic was a “historic event for the friends of Lebanon,” adding that this election constitutes a guarantee for the hopes of the Lebanese people.

“Lebanon can still be a model of the Middle East,” Hollande said in a congratulatory letter he sent to Aoun.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri concluded the second and final day of non-binding consultations with lawmakers on Saturday to form a new cabinet.

He first met with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. After the meeting leader of the SSNP said: “The government's priority must go to the social and economic issues and to meet the needs of the citizens to encourage them to stay in their country. Reform begins with stipulating an election law that does justice to the Lebanese.

Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra clarified that claims alleging that the LF wants to exclude certain political parties from the new government were untrue, As Sharq al-Awsat daily reported on Saturday.

“There is a difference between a government of national unity and a government that works for national unity,” said Zahra in an interview to the daily.

Speaker Nabih Berri has warned PM-designate Saad Hariri that the Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea plans to keep the Kataeb party and Marada Movement out of the new government formula, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

The daily said that Geagea is trying to limit the Christian representation in the new cabinet to his LF ministers.

A high-level Russian official is expected to visit Lebanon over the next few days to congratulate President Michel Aoun on his election, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

A Russian delegation is said to arrive in the next few hours in preparation for the expected visit of the official, added the daily.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif is expected to arrive in Beirut next week for talks with senior Lebanese officials on the bilateral relations between the two countries, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said that the arrangements for the visit are currently being prepared. He said: “Due to the relationship between Iran and Lebanon, and the role that the country plays in the region's security and stability, there are talks in progress between the two sides.”

Among the ongoing consultations to form a new government after the designation of PM Saad Hariri, there is a tendency to form an all-inclusive 30-minister government instead of the usual 24, to pave way for the representation of all political parties, An Nahar daily reported on Saturday.

Sources following up closely on the consultations said there is “semi-final trend to form a government of thirty ministers to include a broader political participation,” which will be formed under the banner of “consensus and national unity.”

Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi announced Friday that the confrontation against what he called “the Iranian hegemony over Lebanon will continue,” even after the election of a new president and the designation of a new premier.

The United States on Friday congratulated Saad Hariri on being named Prime Minister-designate of Lebanon, describing it as “another important step to help build a better future for all citizens.”