Al-Mustaqbal movement has reportedly informed Speaker Nabih Berri that any agreement with the Free Patriotic Movement is “not tangible.”

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Wednesday, Ahmed Hariri, the secretary-general of al-Mustaqbal movement, informed Berri's adviser MP Ali Hassan Khalil that FPM chief Michel Aoun “remains a distant option” for the presidency.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader former PM Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil have agreed on the importance of holding the presidential elections on time to avoid vacuum, the FM and sources said.

Hariri and Bassil, who is a Free Patriotic Movement official and MP Michel Aoun's son-in-law, held a meeting in Paris on Tuesday on the eve of the second round of the presidential elections.

A meeting was held on Tuesday in Paris between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on the eve of the second round of the presidential elections.

The meeting comes as the French capital is witnessing a flurry of political activity as the Free Patriotic Movement is awaiting the support of al-Mustaqbal movement for FPM leader MP Michel Aoun's presidential bid.

Speaker Nabih Berri has warned that he would change his “classical” approach to the presidential polls if lawmakers failed again to elect a new head of state.

In remarks published by local dailies on Monday, Berri said: “I am so far dealing with the presidential elections in a classical way.”

Al-Mustaqbal movement has poured cold water on remarks by a number of Free Patriotic Movement lawmakers about the presence of a certain “deal” with former premier Saad Hariri that would see FPM leader Michel Aoun reach the Baabda Palace, amid the insistence of FPM sources on the existence of such efforts.

In remarks published Sunday in the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, a prominent, unnamed Mustaqbal minister said it is most likely that the election of a new president will not happen within the constitutional timeframe, which ends on May 25, noting that a presidential vacuum is looming on the horizon.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat urged al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri to return to Lebanon soon as “there are no excuses that could justify his absence.”

“I call on Hariri to return and head an all-embracing cabinet (after the election of a new president) to avert further tension and crises,” Jumblat said in an interview with As Safir newspaper.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi discussed the upcoming presidential elections with President Michel Suleiman and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the state-run National News Agency reported on Friday.

Al-Rahi telephoned on Thursday night Hariri to discuss the presidential elections, and the two leaders stressed the need to hold the elections “within the constitutional deadline,” according to the NNA.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri said on Friday that his country intervenes in local Lebanese affairs, denying that contacts are ongoing between Riyadh and al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri regarding the presidential poll.

“The kingdom doesn’t interfere with al-Mustaqbal or any other party” in Lebanese affairs, Asiri said in remarks published in As Safir newspaper.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is scheduled to travel to Rome on Thursday to attend several religious ceremonies and is expected to meet with al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, al-Joumhouria daily reported.

The newspaper said that al-Rahi will attend a ceremony on Saturday night on the centenary of the establishment of Saint Maroun church in Rome. President Michel Suleiman will also participate in the event.

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi announced on Wednesday that Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel is a candidate for the second parliamentary session set to elect a new president, stressing that the March 14 alliance will cast votes to Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in the first round.

“Gemayel has been a candidate for months... Discussions are focusing on how to secure his victory... The upcoming stage will determine when he enters the presidential race,” Qazzi said.