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.

Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed the importance of forming a “consensual government” in order to avert any political conflicts, reported various media outlets on Saturday.

The two officials have warned against the formation of a neutral cabinet, “which will have catastrophic repercussions on Lebanon,” As Safir newspaper quoted Jumblat as telling Suleiman during a meeting earlier this week.

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Thursday that the same terrorists that carried out the blast in the Beirut neighborhood of Haret Hreik earlier in the day, are the ones planting terrorism, killing and destructing all Lebanese regions.

Suleiman's comments came shortly after a deadly explosion hit Beirut's Dahieh neighborhood, killing at least 4 people and wounding over 70 others.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that the intention behind the formation of a new non partisan government is to exclude Hizbullah, a process that he rejected by warning that the lawmakers of his parliamentary bloc would not give their vote of confidence to it.

Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Thursday quoted Berri as saying that his Amal movement would not “isolate” Hizbullah which has fought and resisted Israel.

Speaker Nabih Berri has described Lebanon as a “psychiatric hospital,” warning that the next bomb target could be an official from the Shiite sect in an attempt to widen the divide between Muslims and create strife.

In remarks published in As Safir daily on Tuesday, Berri expressed fears that a Shiite personality would be targeted in the aftermath of the assassination of former Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah, a Sunni.

Lebanon's Ambassador to Syria Michel Khoury will be referred to retirement at the end of December, which will prompt a vacancy in the post, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.

It said that Speaker Nabih Berri's daughter, Farah, may be appointed as his replacement.

Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat are carrying out direct contacts to tackle the lingering political crises, in specific the cabinet formation stalemate.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, Berri and Jumblat are seeking to end the cabinet deadlock based on President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam's determination to form a government at the beginning of 2014.

President Michel Suleiman is holding on to his stance and rejects any attempts to extend his tenure, which ends in May 2014, as media reports said on Tuesday that the cabinet will be formed by January 30, 2014.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday that Suleiman insists on heading back to his hometown of Amchit on May 26,2014.

Speaker Nabih Berri rejected on Monday the formation of a cabinet based on any formula other than 6-9-9, describing it as a national unity government.

“Any other cabinet lineup will not be useful,” Berri said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji said on Monday that he ordered military units to deal firmly with gunmen in the West Bekaa town of Souairi.

Qahwaji stressed in comments published in As Safir newspaper that the army will not hesitate in maintaining security in the country and striking it with an iron fist.