President Michel Suleiman stressed on Monday that the presidential elections will be staged as scheduled in spring 2014.

He therefore demanded the “formation of a government that can hold the elections, regardless if it does not enjoy parliament's confidence.”

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati said on Monday that cabinet will pay Lebanon's share to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in installments.

“The exceptional approval came in light of our commitment to the STL,” Miqati said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri shrugged off the criticism against Riyadh over its stances from the region's turmoil, and praised President Michel Suleiman over his keenness on Lebanon's relations with Arab countries.

Suleiman's stances “come out of his keenness on Lebanon's historic ties with its Arab neighbors and Saudi Arabia,” Asiri said.

Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil welcomed on Sunday a proposal for lawmakers not to boycott parliamentary sessions on the presidential elections on condition there is prior agreement on a “strong” president.

President Michel Suleiman appealed on Saturday for MPs “to assume their responsibilities and not to deny the trust given to them by the people by guaranteeing a quorum for parliamentary sessions and avoiding the danger of a presidential vacuum.”

The international community is expected to exert stronger efforts to pressure Lebanese officials into forming a new government and preventing a vacuum in the presidency, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Sunday.

Al-Hayat said that President Michel Suleiman has been contacting the members of The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) to take “practical measures” for its push to avoid a vacuum in Lebanese institutions.

Top political and religious officials are pressing for the attendance of Christian lawmakers of parliamentary sessions to elect a new president next year as incumbent Michel Suleiman is expected to exert stronger efforts to prevent a vacuum, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Sunday.

Informed sources told al-Hayat that several politicians and the seat of the Maronite church in Bkirki are seeking to convince Christian MPs to attend the sessions that start on March 25 – the 60-day deadline that the Constitution sets for the election of a president.

President Michel Suleiman stated on Saturday his rejection of all foreign intervention schemes, adding that illegal arms have become a tool of destabilization in the country.

“The issue of the Lebanese identity has drawn foreign interference and it was only the result of local mistakes,” Suleiman said in a speech he gave at an event to unveil the busts of the 12 Lebanese presidents that have ruled the country since its independence in 1943., noting that Saturday's meeting aims at reviving “the cause.”

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati declared on Saturday a day of mourning over the death of former South African president Nelson Mandela.

According to a memo issued by the premier's office, flags will fly at half-mast on Tuesday during the memorial service that will be held in the Soweto sports stadium in South Africa.

Change and Reform MP Ibrahim Kanaan, head of the Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee, referred on Saturday the new wages report to the parliament's General Secretariat.

Kanaan will hold a press conference next week to explain the results reached by the committee and the drafted modifications.

General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim is scheduled to travel to Qatar in order to tackle the case of the nuns who were kidnapped in Syria's Maalula region earlier this week, reported LBCI television.

He told the station that he was tasked by President Michel Suleiman to address the case in the Arab Gulf state.