Caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar expected the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to refer the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination case to the pre-trial judge on Monday.

"Prosecutor (Daniel) Bellemare could refer the indictment to Judge (Daniel) Fransen today," Najjar said following talks with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir in Bkirki.

U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly's visit to MP Nicolas Fattoush in Zahle stirred criticism and accusations by March 8 forces of U.S. meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs on the eve of parliamentary consultations to name a new premier.

"They say there is no U.S. interference in the affairs of Lebanon and the region. On the contrary, they are interfering in everything from southern Sudan all the way to Zahle," Speaker Nabih Berri told An Nahar daily in remarks published Monday.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday made his first public comments since the collapse of Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government.

He defended the decision to bring down the government, saying Hizbullah did so without resorting to violence and will not be intimidated by world reaction.

Excerpts from a conversation between Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and false witness Mohammad Zuheir Siddiq broadcast on al-Jadid TV were reportedly leaked to the station after international investigators came under attack at a gynecologist's clinic in Beirut's southern suburbs in October.

An informed source told An Nahar daily that the attackers were able to snatch from the investigators a laptop that included Hariri's statements.

Washington reiterated support for Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri and its call on all Lebanese parties to exercise restraint and coordinate in finding a solution to the Lebanese crisis.

"The United States reiterates its call to all political factions to maintain calm and exercise restraint at this critical time," U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly said in a statement following talks with Hariri at Center House.

All eyes are turned to Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat whose decision on his bloc's nominee for the premier's post could be a turning point in Lebanese political life.

By Monday, the result of the consultations of President Michel Suleiman with the 128-member parliament, was far from certain. The rival March 8 and 14 camps have around 58 or 59 lawmakers each with Jumblat holding the decisive vote with his 11 MPs.

The international tribunal will hold a public hearing on Friday to discuss former Lebanese security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed's demand to see the evidence that led to him being jailed as a suspect in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination case for nearly four years.

The hearing at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the Hague will play out against a backdrop of political turmoil in Beirut after Hizbullah and its allies brought down the government.

Efforts are underway by France to launch an initiative to solve the Lebanese crisis following the government's collapse but Syria has reportedly rejected a French mediation.

"Paris is keen on solving the Lebanese crisis through dialogue with the different Lebanese sides and with this country's neighbors," French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Friday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri is seeking international support after Hizbullah brought down his government.

On Friday Hariri discussed the political turmoil in Lebanon with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

March 14 and March 8 are locked in a battle over the prime minister nomination: Hariri or no Hariri.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri can head the new government if he pledges to stop the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday quoted a senior Opposition official as saying.