Since the civil war, through wars with Israel, militant bombings and domestic turmoil, Lebanese have considered their military as an anchor for stability, one of the only institutions standing above the country's divisions.

But the military is now threatened by Lebanon's devastating financial collapse, one of the worst the world has seen in the past 150 years, according to the World Bank.

A delegation of top EU officials are expected to arrive in Beirut on Saturday in preparation for an international conference on Lebanon scheduled on June 22-23 at the EU level, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

The Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc on Tuesday said it rejects “veiled tripartite power-sharing” in a so-called “three eights” government that would grant each political camp eight ministerial seats.

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc also said that it rejects “the fabrication of new norms related to an incomplete rotation (of portfolios) or a so-called exclusivity in the formation or nomination process.”

Sources following up on the cabinet formation process and close to al-Mustaqbal Movement have snapped back at a statement issued by the Presidency, describing it as an attack on Speaker Nabih Berri and the stance of Dar al-Fatwa’s juristic council.

“President Aoun is shutting the doors in the face of initiatives and openly declaring that he does not want a government. He does not want a government led by (PM-designate Saad) Hariri because any progress in addressing the files will be attributed to Hariri’s role,” the sources told LBCI TV on Tuesday.

The Presidency issued a statement on Tuesday criticizing what it said were “interventions” and statements made by political parties concerning the government formation process.

MP Qassem Hashem of the Development and Liberation parliamentary bloc said on Tuesday that the initiative presented by Speaker Berri to ease the formation of a government “could be the last chance” for Lebanon to have a government.

The General Security Directorate said in a statement on Tuesday that its head, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has traveled to Moscow.

Russian companies are reportedly interested in investments in Lebanon’s energy and oil sectors, after the formation of a Lebanese government, the Saudi Asharq el-Awsat newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Russian involvement in the Lebanese political and economic files has recently been enhanced after 3 Lebanese political delegations visited Moscow in the last few months, said the daily.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday accused President Michel Aoun, the caretaker cabinet and the parliamentary majority of standing idly by in the face of the country’s growing crises.

“It turns out that there is a president in the Baabda Palace but he is not present. There is also a caretaker premier in the Grand Serail but he is not present and the same applies to the parliamentary majority. If they wanted to act, it would have shown by now. The only solution is early parliamentary elections,” Geagea said at a press conference that followed a meeting for the Strong Republic bloc.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will not meet Speaker Nabih Berri in the coming hours and no meeting has been officially scheduled, media reports said on Monday.

“Berri is stressing that his initiative has not died,” MTV reported.