U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon hoped on Tuesday that Lebanon's rival parties would “engage responsibly” with President Michel Suleiman to resolve the country's problems.

During a telephone conversation he held with Suleiman, Ban expressed his strong support for the Lebanese president's “leadership in preserving the security and stability of the country, and stressed the importance of Lebanon's disassociation policy.”

The closing statement of the Doha Arab Summit called on Tuesday for providing support to the Lebanese military institution, urging also the adoption of the cabinet's plan for rescuing Syria's refugees.

“We reiterate our full support to Lebanon and to its cabinet and we pledge to preserve the country's security and stability,” the closing statement said.

President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday called on the Arab states to “share the burden” of hosting the Syrian refugees and urged them to seek the release of nine Lebanese pilgrims abducted by an armed group in the Syrian town of Aazaz.

“The number of Syrian refugees has surged and it is now equivalent to one quarter of Lebanon's population. Although the Lebanese state has decided not to close the border, the situations indicate that the security problems will increase and this requires a serious discussion in order to find a solution to this aggravating problem in a country based on delicate checks and balances,” Suleiman said in his address at the Arab Summit in Doha.

Speaker Nabih Berri held talks on Tuesday with several officials from March 8 and 14 as part of consultations on government crisis and the new electoral law amid reports saying that he will call for a parliamentary session on April 5.

Free Patriotic Movement caretaker Minister Jebran Bassil, Hizbullah leader's aide Hussein Khalil and former minister Youssef Saad held discussions with the speaker in presence of his assistant Ali Hassan Khalil in Ain el-Tineh.

President Michel Suleiman asked Turkey on Tuesday to exert more efforts in releasing Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo province since last May, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Suleiman's request came during talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the sidelines of the Arab League summit in Doha.

The families of the nine pilgrims abducted in Syria's Aazaz threatened on Tuesday to escalate their measures at beginning of April if the case wasn't resolved.

Protesters held banners criticizing Lebanese authorities for failing to release the men.

The March 14 alliance kicked off preliminary consultations to take a decisive stance from the upcoming challenges confronting it as Centrist Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat insists on the formation of a unity government, media reports said on Tuesday.

Sources close to the opposition told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that a wide meeting will be held between the March 14 coalition leaders after Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel returns to Lebanon from a visit to the United States.

Independent March 14 officials expressed on Monday their support for President Michel Suleiman in light of the resignation of the government last week.

They said after a meeting at MP Butros Harb's residence: “The Baabda Declaration should serve as the new cabinet's ministerial statement.”

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati said Monday that his resignation opened way for the discussion on the possibility of holding national dialogue and urged officials to discuss ways to provide incentives for the success of the upcoming cabinet.

“The resignation was aimed at creating a positive shock amid the difficult circumstances that the country is going through. And this became clear through the resumption of talk on dialogue,” Miqati told visiting delegations at his hometown of Tripoli in the North.

Speaker Nabih Berri said Monday that the national dialogue at Baabda palace has become a necessity after the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government.

The resumption of the dialogue has become “urgent and necessary” to study how the parliamentary elections could be held and the new government formed, Berri told As Safir daily.