President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati and Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi signed decrees to provide funds to Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi, who has been boycotting cabinet sessions over the past three weeks, An Nahar daily reported Saturday.

The newspaper said that Suleiman, Miqati and Safadi signed the decrees at Baabda palace on Friday.

Cabinet postponed its session on Friday due to the lack of quorum after the Change and Reform ministers did not attend the meeting, which was expected to be held at the Baabda palace.

The ministers chose not to attend the session because of they are reportedly upset over the way they have been treated by the government, reported OTV.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokesman Marten Youssef stressed on Friday that STL president Judge Sir David Baragwanath didn’t tackle the possibility of imposing international sanctions on Lebanon if the funding wasn’t approved by the cabinet.

“The aim behind the STL president’s visit is to inquire about the stance of the Lebanese authorities and the cabinet towards the tribunal,” Youssef told al-Joumhouria newspaper.

The majority of the 30-member cabinet ministers would support the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon if the issue was put up to vote during a session scheduled to be held next Wednesday, informed sources said.

The sources told al-Liwaa daily published Friday that if President Michel Suleiman decided to put the funding issue to vote, 16 or 17 ministers would vote in favor of paying Lebanon’s 49 percent share to the tribunal.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has described the situation in Lebanon and the crisis on the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as an “open bazaar over strange things.”

When asked by As Safir daily to comment about the situation, Jumblat, who is currently in Brussels, said he prefers to stay away from Lebanese politics and its “absurdities.”

Speaker Nabih Berri is seeking consensus on the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon through contacts with President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati in coordination with the March 8 leadership, As Safir newspaper reported on Friday.

The report said that Berri’s ongoing contacts with Suleiman and Miqati is to convince them to withdraw the issue of the STL from the cabinet discussions, for the time being.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim, Robert Watkins, held talks on Thursday with President Michel Suleiman and former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora on the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

Watkins briefed Suleiman on U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, which was submitted to the members of the Security Council on November 15.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon President Sir Judge David Baragwanath continued his trip to Lebanon on Thursday by meeting with the British Ambassador Tom Fletcher, after which the ambassador praised the judge for his “vigor in pursuing his responsibilities.”

Fletcher added: “We were encouraged by the commitments made by the Lebanese leadership that Lebanon will meet its international obligations.”

Premier Najib Miqati told the cabinet on Wednesday that he expects the government to discuss the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon next week and hoped that each party would assume its responsibility towards the controversial issue.

An Nahar daily said Thursday that several cabinet ministers inquired Miqati about reports that he intended to resign if the cabinet failed to pay its 49 percent share to the STL - $33 million this year.

U.S. President Barack Obama stressed to President Michel Suleiman that the United States stands by the Lebanese people in their pursuit for justice, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy emphasized the need for Lebanon to commit to its international obligations, especially the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Obama told Suleiman in a cable congratulating him on Lebanon’s Independence Day that the United States will continue its support for Lebanon’s independence and sovereignty, reported the National News Agency on Wednesday.