Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is expected to launch contacts this week to resolve the presidential deadlock despite his deep frustration over the failure to implement any of the initiatives he has suggested so far.

According to An Nahar daily, Al-Rahi informed several of his visitors that he would contact officials on Monday and Tuesday to find ways to end the vacuum at Baabda Palace, which came as a result of the failure of lawmakers to elect a successor to President Michel Suleiman.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has described Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun as an “honest man,” saying he would welcome his election as a president.

In an interview with al-Akhbar daily published on Wednesday, Assad said: “Aoun is an honorable and honest man who fought with dignity and reconciled with dignity.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has allegedly accused al-Mustaqbal movement of turning against a deal to attend a parliamentary session on the controversial wage hike, warning that lack of quorum puts the entire political system in danger.

According to several local dailies, Berri said this was “not the first time that the movement was revolting against a positive atmosphere or agreements” aimed at resolving certain crises.

The cabinet is scheduled to meet on Thursday to continue discussions on the controversial work mechanism in the absence of President Michel Suleiman and the failure to elect a new head of state.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam invited ministers to meet at 10:00 am Thursday at the Grand Serail although differences between the cabinet's members have not been settled yet.

Talks between al-Mustaqbal movement and the Free Patriotic Movement have not stopped, a high-ranking official said despite a claim made by al-Mustaqbal MP Assem Araji that the meetings are not leading anywhere.

The official, who is a member of ex-PM Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal movement, told As Safir newspaper published on Friday that contacts between the two sides “are serious and ongoing.”

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil has denied that he avoided to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Beirut on Wednesday, saying he could not cancel his trip to China, which is a major investing country.

In an interview with al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Friday, Bassil said: “We were informed about Kerry's visit only 48 hours before” his arrival to Beirut.

A delegation from the Maronite institutions visited on Thursday Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to brief him on the result of its talks with the country's top Maronite political leaders on the country's presidential crisis, stressing that the vacuum contradicted the National Pact.

Following its meeting with al-Rahi in Bkirki, the delegation issued a statement saying the failure to elect a president and the continued presence of the government contradicted the 1943 power-sharing agreement and abolished the Maronite president.

Health Minister Wael Abou Faour has denied that the Progressive Socialist Party was not comfortable with the rapprochement between Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and al-Mustaqbal movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri.

“We don't have any problem with the rapprochement between Aoun and Hariri. This issue is absolutely not linked to us,” the minister told As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has issued a stern warning against the MPs who are boycotting parliamentary sessions, saying he would take measures against them for “only choosing from the menu the food they like.”

In remarks to As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday, Berri said: “Things would get straight if those who are boycotting the (sessions) implement the Constitution and laws.”

Speaker Nabih Berri, who returned from his private visit to Italy, is expected on Tuesday to revive the consultations on two parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president and approving the public sector wage scale.

An Nahar newspaper said that the sessions are to be reminiscent of their predecessors.