Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora has told members of Speaker Nabih Berri's bloc that the national dialogue is not a constitutional institution during a meeting described as “important.”

An Nahar daily on Tuesday quoted officials close to Saniora as describing the 90-minute meeting with the Development and Liberation bloc as “important.”

Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora said Monday that an initiative made by Speaker Nabih Berri to resolve the country's political crisis is a waste of time, stressing his rejection to discuss the shape of the government at the all-party talks.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5), Saniora said the political foes should only discuss controversial strategic issues at the national dialogue table.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday endorsed a recent statement issued by President Michel Suleiman to clarify the Baabda Declaration, describing the agreement as a “serious roadmap” for dialogue and pacification.

“During these difficult days that we are all going through, it is not appropriate to engage in a contentious debate, such as the debate they have started over the Baabda Declaration,” Hariri said in a press release.

Development and Liberation bloc MPs met on Friday with President Michel Suleiman and Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati to brief them on Speaker Nabih Berri's “roadmap” on the new government and the national dialogue.

Berri tasked his lawmakers to meet with top officials and parliamentary blocs to explain to them his initiative, which he said is aimed at bringing the country's political deadlock to an end.

France has reassured President Michel Suleiman that a possible Western attack against the Syrian regime would neither target Lebanon nor Hizbullah, As Safir daily reported on Friday.

The daily's correspondent in Paris said French President Francois Hollande told Suleiman on the sidelines of the Francophone Games in the southern city of Nice that Paris was exerting all efforts to steer Lebanon clear of the developments linked to Syria and its chemical weapons.

President Michel Suleiman, who is traveling to New York this month, is expected to meet with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to discuss the Syrian crisis, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Thursday.

The daily said that the issue was discussed by Suleiman and Secretary of State John Kerry during a telephone conversation they held on Wednesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed his “annoyance” on Wednesday over the “misinterpretation” of the dialogue proposal he come forward with during his latest televised speech.

"Berri is upset at those who intentionally misinterpreted several clauses of his suggestion, especially in what concerns disassociating Lebanon from the Syrian crisis and favoring instead to wait and see how things develop in the neighboring country,” several lawmakers quoted the speaker as saying after meeting with him in Ain el-Tineh.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc MPs discussed with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday ways to speed up the formation of a new government and launch national dialogue to resolve controversial issues, the head of the bloc, MP Fouad Saniora, said.

“The ball is in the court of the president and PM-designate to find ways to form a cabinet that would be based on either their proposal or would be made up of non-political figures,” Saniora said in Bkirki after holding talks with al-Rahi at the head of an al-Mustaqbal delegation.

President Michel Suleiman reiterated on Wednesday that the U.N. should hold accountable officials who used chemical weapons in Syria away from foreign military intervention.

During a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Suleiman said he rejected the use of chemical weapons but stressed the importance of a U.N. Security Council role in holding accountable the persons who used them, and finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

President Michel Suleiman revealed that he would challenge the extension of his mandate if the parliament took such a move amid soaring political tensions and the failure to form a new government.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published Wednesday, Suleiman said: “The Constitution is clear that a government should assume its Constitutional responsibilities and prepare for the presidential elections as soon as possible.”