As part of his visit to Lebanon to show the United Nations’ "solidarity with the country and its people," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday visited UNIFIL Headquarters in south Lebanon and met with peacekeepers, UNIFIL said.

Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col received the U.N. chief and briefed him on the mission’s work in the South.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Hizbullah must become a political party, while noting that Lebanon needs a “new social contract” that would lead to the rebuilding of the middle class that has been ravaged by the country’s brutal economic and financial crisis.

Guterres, who is on a four-day visit to Lebanon, voiced his remarks in an interview with Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat that was published Tuesday evening.

MP George Adwan of the Lebanese Forces on Tuesday lauded the Constitutional Council for “staying out of (political) deals,” shortly after the Council announced that it failed to issue a ruling on an appeal filed by the Free Patriotic Movement against the electoral law’s amendments.

“The (Council’s) members maintained their stance,” Adwan added, noting that “the constitutional and legal right of non-residents to vote for 128 seats has triumphed.”

Baabda sources on Tuesday described as a “flop” the Constitutional Council’s failure to issue a ruling on the Free Patriotic Movement’s appeal against the electoral law’s amendments.

“President Michel Aoun had not requested anything” from the Council, the sources told LBCI television.

The U.N. chief, who is visiting Lebanon, has called for an impartial and transparent investigation into last year's massive Beirut port explosion to ensure justice.

The Aug. 4, 2020 blast has been described as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in the world. It devastated parts of the Lebanese capital, killing at least 216 people and injuring thousands.

The Constitutional Council failed Tuesday to issue a ruling on the appeal filed by the Free Patriotic Movement against the electoral law’s amendments, which means that the adjustments will go into effect and that no six new seats will be dedicated to expats.

Admitting that the no-ruling can be considered a “flop” for the Council, Judge Tannous Meshleb, the Council’s chief, said “the appeal would not have resolved Lebanon’s crisis.”

Lebanon needs to receive $12-15 billion from its partners to kickstart its economic recovery and shore up fast-diminishing foreign currency reserves, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said Tuesday.

Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worst since the mid-19th century.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that his relation with Prime Minister Najib Miqati is good, rejecting what has been said about a possible argument between the two, after Miqati was seen leaving angry Monday from a meeting with Berri.

Miqati’s circles have also negated the “alleged dispute,” stressing that the relation between Berri and Miqati is good.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati announced Monday evening that he will continue his "missions and efforts," after media reports suggested that he might resign.

Conflicting reports emerged Monday evening on whether or not Prime Minister Najib Miqati intends to resign.