Maronite bishop Samir Mazloum expressed pessimism on Friday over the near end of the presidential deadlock, stressing that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will not openly name those who are impeding the elections.

“The patriarch will not be ordered what to do or say,” Mazloum said in comments published in the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper, in response to calls by the March 14 lawmakers to name the sides that are obstructing the presidential election.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun has promised to hold accountable corrupt officials if he were elected a president, denying that he has made certain political concessions and stressing that he is part of the resistance axis against jihadists and Israel.

“If I were elected president, I would deploy the accountability system and consolidate judicial inspection,” Aoun told al-Akhbar newspaper in a lengthy interview published on Tuesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri intends to call for a parliamentary session this month, a move that requires consultations with the rival blocs over the vacuum at Baabda Palace.

Al-Liwaa daily on Tuesday quoted Berri as telling his visitors that he is seeking to call for a session by the end of March.

Deputy Lebanese Forces leader and lawmaker George Adwan described on Monday the dialogue between the party and the Free Patriotic Movement as “positive,” stressing that Hizbullah's performance is thwarting the election of a new head of state.

“We have bridged the gaps and the ties are almost normal... The agreement document is almost 80 percent done,” Adwan said in an interview with An Nahar newspaper.

Minister of the Displaced Alice Shabtini has noted that Lebanon will not have a president before Iran and the United States reach a final nuclear agreement, as she pointed out that Hizbullah is “clinging to its arms because it is defending itself.”

“There is no possibility to elect a president before an agreement is reached between Iran and the U.S.,” Shabtini, who is one of three ministers loyal to ex-president Michel Suleiman, said.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag has said that Hizbullah violated Security Council Resolution 1701 when it attacked Israeli troops in the occupied Shebaa Farms area in January.

“The attack on the Israeli convoy is a clear violation of the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel,” Kaag told An Nahar newspaper in an interview published on Friday.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Thursday that the activation of the government's work hinges on the readiness of the different factions to serve citizens, calling on ministers to abide by the agreement to have consensus on cabinet decisions.

Salam told cabinet ministers that consensus among them is the best option in the absence of a president, Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said following a cabinet session.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq criticized on Thursday the rivals over the lack of responsibility concerning the presidential elections, praising Lebanon's ability to withstand the turmoil in the region under the tenure of the “best” Prime Minister Tammam Salam.

“Our rivals are insisting to push forward their presidential candidate to reach Baabda Palace, according to the formula: either our candidate or no one,” Mashnouq said in an interview with As Safir newspaper.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea described the presidential deadlock as a “misery,” laying blame on Hizbullah-backer Iran and saying no solution was currently lying on the horizon .

“More than any other time Iran does not want a president for Lebanon unless he belonged to its camp,” Geagea told journalists who visited him in Maarab on Tuesday.

Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan said on Tuesday that the Free Patriotic Movement is awaiting for the Lebanese Forces to put its comments on the understanding that was reached between the representatives of the two parties in order for the agreements to take effect.

“It is normal for the process to take its time, in particular when highlighting the common characteristics in delicate and important matters,” Kanaan told al-Joumhouria newspaper.