France has said that all Lebanese parties should work together through dialogue to preserve the unity and sovereignty of their country.

“It is important that Lebanese parties work together with the mentality of dialogue and understanding to preserve the unity, sovereignty and independence of Lebanon,” the French foreign ministry spokesman said in response to a question on French Ambassador Denis Pietton’s call for consensus on the new cabinet.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s office in Beirut was evacuated after receiving a hoax bomb threat, security sources told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

The sources said Miqati received on Tuesday morning an anonymous phone call saying there was an explosive at his office in Verdun.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday noted that "there are no real indications" that the new cabinet will see light anytime soon.

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting under ex-PM Fouad Saniora, the bloc derided the "promises" made in that regard "by those who are saying that they are part of the cabinet formation process."

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati on Tuesday held talks with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace away from the media spotlight, state-run National News Agency reported.

Talks tackled "the latest developments concerning the cabinet formation process in light of the ongoing consultations and contacts," NNA added.

Speaker Nabih Berri demanded on Tuesday that the investigation into alleged Lebanese meddling in Syrian affairs should be conducted in a legal framework.

He said during a ceremony commemorating poet Najib Jamaledddine: ““All Lebanese should be keener on Syria’s security and stability than the Syrians themselves.”

Sources from the Progressive Socialist Party revealed to the Central News Agency that PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat headed to Damascus on Tuesday but the reasons for the visit have not been disclosed.

They said that he will return to Beirut on Wednesday.

President Michel Suleiman noted on Tuesday that the current situation in Lebanon and the region “require the Lebanese to protect the internal scene from the negative repercussions of these external developments.”

He stressed the need to resort to dialogue as the way to end disputes among the Lebanese under the umbrella of the constitution and laws “that ensure Lebanon’s interests.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun noted on Tuesday that it appears that there is no intention to form a new government in Lebanon because the reasons attributed to the delay in its formation “are not binding.”

He rejected after the movement’s weekly meeting the violation of the constitution by any side regarding the formation process and distribution of portfolios, especially the Interior Ministry.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Shami called on Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations Nawwaf Salam to reject the Security Council’s expected draft statement on the developments on Syria.

The U.N. will discuss Syria later Tuesday.

Government Commissioner to the Military Tribunal Judge Saqr Saqr on Tuesday charged four people with involvement in the kidnapping of the seven Estonian tourists last month.

The state-run National News Agency said that two of them were charged in absentia. Among the four people, two are Lebanese nationals.