Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil held talks on Tuesday with Speaker Nabih Berri on the petroleum file and the need for cabinet to convene in order to follow up on this issue.

He said: “We hope that this meeting will mark the beginning of progress that can be achieved over this issue.”

President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Premier-designate Tammam Salam condemned on Tuesday the blast that rocked the Bir al-Abed neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, urging the Lebanese people to end their disputes.

Suleiman said in a statement: “The explosion should prompt officials to end their differences, return to dialogue, and commit to the Baabda Declaration.”

Several parliamentary blocs are drafting a petition to submit it to Speaker Nabih Berri, calling on him to hold a parliamentary session to approve the extension of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji's term, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, the blocs expressed fear that any vacuum at the head of the military institution would lead to instability and chaos.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has tasked Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly to inform Lebanese officials about his deep concern over a possible vacuum in the army leadership, American and European diplomats said.

The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Monday that Ban is “extremely concerned” that a vacuum in the army commander's post would have security and political repercussions on the role of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

Speaker Nabih Berri is holding onto his right to call for a parliamentary session and to the agenda that was set by the parliament's bureau, saying there is no “compromise when its related to the constitution.”

“The AMAL movement already objects 15 articles included on the agenda of the session,” Berri said in comments published in As Safir newspaper on Monday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has rejected throwing the ball in his court over the crisis on the constitutionality of a parliamentary session, saying he had reached an agreement with caretaker Premier Najib Miqati to resolve the problem.

In remarks to An Nahar newspaper published Sunday, Berri said it was wrong to throw the ball in his court after reports emerged that President Michel Suleiman and Miqati had reached a deal and were waiting for his approval.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat described on Saturday the current political situation as “unsound,” stressing that the only way to resolve disputes is by dialogue.

Sources close to Jumblat expressed the Druze leader's annoyance that a certain party decided to boycott the recent parliamentary session that Speaker Nabih Berri called for, in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Attempts by President Michel Suleiman to bring viewpoints closer between Speaker Nabih Berri and Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati on a controversial parliamentary session have failed, media reports said Friday.

Local dailies quoted informed sources as saying that a meeting held between Suleiman, Berri and Miqati at Baabda palace on Wednesday night focused on the constitutionality of the session that the speaker has called for.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam froze his attempts to form the new government, which he launched after the extension of parliament's mandate end of May, his sources said Wednesday.

The freeze came against the backdrop of a dispute between Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, who has refused to attend a parliamentary session amid a resigned cabinet.

Speaker Nabih Berri has denied that he was seeking to infringe on the powers of the executive authority by calling for a parliamentary session amid a resigned cabinet.

In remarks to several local dailies published Wednesday, Berri said: “I regret such accusations.”