Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan reiterated on Friday his rejection of attempts made by the opposition March 14 forces and mainly al-Mustaqbal movement to find a comprehensive solution to extra-budgetary spending made by previous governments since 2006.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc lawmakers Jamal al-Jarrah and Ghazi Youssef proposed an urgent draft-law to parliament to legitimize the extra-budgetary spending made by the cabinets of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri between 2006 and 2010 and the government of Premier Najib Miqati in 2011 after the current cabinet referred its $5.9 billion bill to the legislature for approval.

The March 14 opposition forces threw the ball of the dispute on the extra-budgetary spending in Speaker Nabih Berri’s court on Friday, saying he should resolve their differences with the March 8 coalition to avert a clash during a parliamentary session scheduled to be held on Monday.

During a press conference he held on Friday, al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora reiterated that an urgent draft-law proposed by MPs Jamal al-Jarrah and Ghazi Youssef is the only solution to resolve the dispute on the extra-budgetary spending made by different governments since 2006.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Thursday that the March 14 press conference scheduled for Friday will serve as the “final warning” for the March 8 camp to “cease its spiteful acts.”

He told the Central News Agency: “Strife may erupt if the dispute between the March 8 and 14 camps over government spending is not resolved.”

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc is gearing up to propose an urgent draft law that would call for a comprehensive settlement to the billions of dollars of extra-budgetary spending made since 2006, al-Liwaa daily reported Wednesday.

It said the opposition bloc that is part of the March 14 coalition will propose the draft law in an effort to ward off attempts by the March 8 parliamentary majority of clinching a vote on a $5.9 billion bill on spending made by Premier Najib Miqati’s cabinet in 2011.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri thanked U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon for extending the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the appointment of a new prosecutor.

Hariri telephoned Ban hailing his decisions, according to a statement issued by his press office.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Tuesday that a controversial extra-budgetary spending would be resolved through the adoption of a $5.9 billion spending bill first to pave way for a solution to $11 billion spent between 2006 and 2009.

In remarks to As Safir daily, Berri said that parliament should “first legalize the $5.9 billion, which the opposition March 14 forces had initially agreed to, so that the $11 billion problem could be resolved.”

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora reiterated his demand for parliament’s legitimization of extra-budgetary spending away from the “logic of vengeance” as a meeting scheduled to be held on Monday by the parliament bureau and the heads and secretaries of committees will seek to settle the issue.

Saniora held talks with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace on Saturday. His sources told An Nahar daily on Sunday that the two officials discussed extra-budgetary spending and Speaker Nabih Berri’s pledge to resolve the issue before a legislative session on March 5.

Speaker Nabih Berri called for a session for the heads of the parliamentary committees on Monday amid efforts to resolve a dispute over the spending of funds during the governments of former Prime Ministers Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

Informed parliamentary sources told the daily that the speaker is seeking the formation of a parliamentary-ministerial committee that can tackle the dispute and conduct contacts with the various blocs to reach a solution.

The al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc stressed on Friday that Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun lost on three fronts when the March 14 lawmakers withdrew from a parliamentary session the day before.

Al-Mustaqbal sources told An Nahar that Aoun lost Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, failed to win support for a $5.9 billion cabinet spending bill, and witnessed the removal of the Value Added Tax on red and green diesel, a move rejected by Energy Minister Jebran Bassil.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed regret at the withdrawal of the March 14 opposition MPs from a parliamentary session on Thursday, saying he adjourned the meeting over his keenness on national cohesion.

“I am not satisfied with what happened even if the democratic game allows lawmakers to withdraw from the session,” Berri said in remarks published in Beirut dailies on Friday.