Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun rejected on Tuesday President Michel Suleiman's suggestion to form a neutral government, saying that nonpartisan ministers “have no opinions.”

He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “Threats to form a neutral cabinet make it unconstitutional.”

Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra defended on Tuesday President Michel Suleiman against a campaign launched by the March 8 alliance, accusing it of assaulting his authorities.

“The campaign against Suleiman is an assault on his powers,” Zahra said in a press conference.

President Michel Suleiman on Monday condemned attempts to link the cabinet formation process to the May presidential election, wondering why can't the Lebanese have a “neutral government” after 10 months of political vacuum.

“Should we fail to form an all-embracing political cabinet, don't people have the right to contribute to the formation of a neutral government? In the absence of consensus on an inclusive cabinet, do we have to stay without a cabinet?” Suleiman wondered in a televised speech he delivered at the Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture in Beirut.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour noted on Monday that valuable information was lost with the death of the “emir” of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Majed al-Majed.

He said: “His death is a blow to justice.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea reiterated on Monday his rejection to the formation of an all-embracing cabinet, stressing the importance of carrying out the presidential elections on time.

“We are passing through a delicate stage and only five months separate us from the presidential elections deadline... The only reasonable thing is to form a cabinet that aims at achieving Lebanon's highest interest without March 8 and 14 alliances,” Geagea said in an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has backed off from his support for a so-called neutral government over fears that further divisions among the rival parties could affect the presidential elections, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted sources as saying.

The March 8 alliance has been calling for a government in which it would get nine ministers along with March 14 and centrists six.

Premier-designate Tammam Salam has agreed to give the cabinet formation efforts more time after warnings by Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat against the formation of a fait accompli government, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Sunday.

“We waited for nine months to reach a solution and consensus that would steer the country away from divisions on the cabinet but nothing came up from the procrastination,” the newspaper quoted Salam as saying.

The United States supports the formation of a new government in Lebanon, but it also sets as a priority the preservation of stability in Lebanon, As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

It also opposes any measure that may jeopardize Lebanon's stability, U.S. Ambassador David Hale told President Michel Suleiman during a meeting they held away from the media spotlight between Christmas and New Year's eve.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam said on Friday that his cabinet will only be formed to oversee the upcoming presidential elections and might have a roll in seeking common grounds over the matter between the Lebanese foes.

“We will give the rival parties a last chance to seek consensus over a new cabinet lineup,” Salam said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Soaring political tensions and two terrorist explosions that have rocked the country in the past week have brought the efforts of President Michel Suleiman and Premier-designate Tammam Salam to form a new government to a standstill.

Several local dailies quoted highly informed sources as saying on Friday that the possibilities to form a cabinet in the coming days have withered following the bombing that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs a day earlier.