Former prime minister Saad Hariri on Friday responded to Speaker Nabih Berri’s recent call for national dialogue, saying he welcomes “the principle of dialogue” but noting that it is “unacceptable” to turn dialogue over Hizbullah’s arms into dialogue over the latest unrest in Tripoli.

“We welcome the principle of dialogue and the call for dialogue; however, we remind that our permanent stance is: We were not the ones who withdrew from the national dialogue, and we demand its resumption on the bases that were agreed upon, and on the items that were included on its agenda,” said Hariri in a statement.

Hizbullah deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem urged on Monday ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri to support the adoption of an electoral law based on proportional representation.

“We are waiting his (Hariri’s) agreement on a fair proportional electoral law, so he gets all the votes of his supporters and the rest of us take the votes of our supporters,” Qassem said in a statement issued by Hizbullah’s media relations department.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri urged the residents of the northern port city of Tripoli on Sunday to end the fighting, accusing the General Security Department without naming it of becoming an “outlaw” in its arrest of Shadi al-Mawlawi for his alleged terror ties.

“I urge Tripoli residents to remain calm and not to be dragged behind provocation,” Hariri said on his twitter feed.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora urged the cabinet on Saturday to start preparing the 2012 state budget and to pledge finishing it within two months.

“The problem can’t be resolved in a disorganized and discretionary manner,” Saniora said during a meeting with al-Mustaqbal delegation in his office in Sidon.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri noted on Saturday that the 2013 parliamentary elections will mark a “major turning point” in Lebanon’s history.

On Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s remarks that the March 14 forces will not hold the elections in light of the party’s possession of arms, he replied: “The ballot boxes are the best reply to his statements.”

Premier Najib Miqati is exerting every effort to guarantee a cabinet consensus on the $5.9 billion extra-budgetary spending of 2011 to avoid an embarrassment after the discussion of the issue was postponed for the second week in a row on Wednesday.

Sources close to Miqati told An Nahar daily published Friday that the solution to the spending crisis continues to face obstacles but hoped that a session set by the PM for next week would give him enough time to find an exit to the bickering between the cabinet’s different members.

Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem on Wednesday stressed that former premier Saad Hariri was “not the sole representative” of the Sunni sect in Lebanon, noting that the May 7, 2008 events were “an armed clash between two parties.”

“We must work for the sake of Islamic unity and national unity,” Qassem said, stressing that “the disputes are not religious … but rather political, in which the religious slogan is being used for incitement due to their failure to propagate their (political) vision.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks on Monday with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, announced his press office in a statement.

The Doha talks focused on the latest regional and international developments, especially the situation in the Arab world.

Former prime minister Saad Hariri on Sunday accused the rival March 8 camp of seeking “elections and electoral laws that are subject to the terror of weapons,” but stressed that the opposition March 14 camp’s “decision is to confront this conspiracy.”

“Elections will take place in Syria under the terror of weapons. And in Lebanon, they also want elections and electoral laws that are subject to the terror of weapons. Our decision is to confront this conspiracy against the democratic regime and the renewed attempts to subject Lebanon to the Syrian regime and its tools,” Hariri said in a speech via video link to a rally held by the Mustaqbal Movement in downtown Beirut to commemorate Martyrs Day and the May 7, 2008 events.

Former PM Saad Hariri advised the Lebanese on Saturday not to give up on their country, a day before his scheduled appearance on a giant TV screen during a rally in support of the Syrian people.

“Don't give up on Lebanon. It's your country fight for it peacefully,” the al-Mustaqbal movement leader said on his twitter feed.