A visiting European delegation stressed on Saturday the importance of forming a cabinet capable of overseeing the upcoming Presidential elections and called on political foes to abide by the dissociation policy to safeguard the country.

“We are concerned with maintaining stability in the country and we urge the formation of a government that would be capable of overseeing next year's parliamentary elections and the upcoming presidential elections,” Elmar Brok, chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, told reporters after talks with Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail.

Lebanese officials warned against Israel taking any “unilateral” steps in demarcating its maritime border in the areas near Lebanon, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily said that Israel is seeking to demarcate the maritime border in the area disputed with Lebanon through a draft law that will be proposed at the Knesset.

Speaker Nabih Berri said that President Michel Suleiman has not discussed with him about the extension of his mandate, expressing confidence on the formation of a new cabinet before the end of his term.

Several local dailies quoted Berri as saying on Friday that he hadn't heard or received a signal from Suleiman that he is after the extension of his six-year mandate, which expires in May next year.

Speaker Nabih Berri postponed a controversial parliamentary session for the 8th time to January 28 over lack of quorum.

The session had 45 items on the agenda.

Lawmakers on Wednesday quoted Speaker Nabih Berri as saying that recent attacks on the army “threaten to drown the country in chaos.”

“Targeting the army for being the unifying institution is the pinnacle of attacks on state institutions and it is a very dangerous development that jeopardizes stability and threatens to drown the country in chaos,” Berri was quoted as saying during his weekly meeting with MPs.

Speaker Nabih Berri urged on Monday the International Telecommunication Union to form a committee to investigate the newly established Israeli spying stations along its border with Lebanon.

“The newly Israeli aggression is a campaign to spy on the Lebanese, the embassies and international organizations in the country,” Berri said during a meeting with caretaker Telecom Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui and the secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union Hamadoun Touré.

Speaker Nabih Berri ruled out on Monday reports saying that there is a dispute between him and President Michel Suleiman, describing the relations as “normal.”

“History repeats itself as the situation we're witnessing today is similar to the one we lived in 2007 with some simple differences,” Berri told local newspapers.

The dialogue between Speaker Nabih Berri and al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora has been affected by the differences between the Baabda presidential palace and Hizbullah, sources said.

Consultations between Berri and Saniora began to be influenced by the “hot wind” affecting the Baabda-Hizbullah ties, sources told al-Liwaa newspaper published on Saturday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has warned that holding cabinet sessions would renew clashes in the resigned government of Prime Minister Najib Miqati, hindering the process of coming up with a new line-up.

“The revival of government sessions would open the appetite over controversial issues that a resigned cabinet should not discuss because they would push aside the efforts to form the government,” he said.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday the need to form a new government in light of the ongoing disputes between the rival political powers over the matter.

He said: “The 6-9-9 cabinet formula is still the most reasonable and acceptable proposal.”