Speaker Nabih Berri has discussed with al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora the political crises gripping the country, As Safir daily reported on Friday.

The newspaper quoted sources as saying that Saniora visited Berri along with Nader Hariri, the adviser of al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri.

Lebanese officials have welcomed Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech amid hopes that it would lead to dialogue among the country's rival parties.

“The country needs positive rhetoric more than any other time and this is what I saw in Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's” speech, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat told As Safir daily published on Tuesday.

The extension of parliament's mandate has become a foregone conclusion after both Speaker Nabih Berri and al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora hinted that there was no option but to extend the term of lawmakers despite a veto by influential Christian figures.

Saniora told al-Mustaqbal daily in remarks published on Wednesday that he discussed with Berri a day earlier the extension of the legislature's tenure.

United Nations Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura continued on Friday his tour on Lebanese officials on his second day of visit to Lebanon, stressing the international community's determination to maintain stability in the country.

The U.N. official discussed with head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc Fouad Saniora the general situation in Lebanon and the region.

A political settlement is likely to be reached between the country's rival leaders to resolve the paralysis of parliament after Speaker Nabih Berri said he reached an “initial understanding” with Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan to pass urgent draft-laws.

Parliament has been unable to legislate over the boycott of several blocs, including the March 14 alliance's lawmakers and Change and Reform MPs. The paralysis is linked to the presidential deadlock.

Speaker Nabih Berri has suspended efforts he was exerting with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat to resolve the presidential deadlock after the March 14 alliance announced a new initiative.

Berri told several officials who visited him on Tuesday that he and Jumblat were severely criticized when the PSP chief said he was in contact with the speaker and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to convince the rival parties to swiftly elect a new president.

The March 14 alliance on Tuesday kept its support for Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea but said it was ready to agree on another consensual candidate for the presidential elections.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora announced the initiative along with LF lawmaker George Adwan during a press conference they held at the parliament.

Senior officials held a meeting at the residence of former President Michel Suleiman in Yarze, the state-run National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The meeting, which was held on Tuesday evening, gathered Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Prime Minister Tammam Salam, head of al-Mustaqbal Parliamentary bloc Fouad Saniora and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora lamented on Friday the parliamentary blocs' failure to elect a new president given the boycott some powers are practicing over the elections sessions.

He said: “No other issues take precedence over the election of a president.”

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani rejects the election of head of the Sunni Sharia Supreme Court of Lebanon Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan as his successor.

“I am sure that Daryan might be forced despite my rejection, but I will not give my blessing despite all the guarantees,” As Safir newspaper quoted Qabbani as saying on Friday.