President Michel Suleiman held talks with Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan on Saturday as part of consultations aimed at ending the political deadlock.

Arslan said he told Suleiman that the cabinet should be responsible and play its role. A solution should also be found to the issue of false witnesses, the MP told reporters in Baabda palace.

Interior Minister Ziad Baroud denied on Saturday that he had problems with the general directorate of the Internal Security Forces, but said the institution should not fall in the trap of political rhetoric and should abide by rules and regulations.

“I was surprised to see that (ISF chief) Ashraf Rifi’s answer was published in one of the newspapers,” Baroud told LBC TV network.

Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdel Karim Ali said Syria backs Lebanese leaders in efforts to find a consensus solution to the Lebanese crisis.

He expressed optimism on the success of the Saudi-Syrian initiative and said the Lebanese “are capable of agreeing and working in Lebanon’s interest.”

Hizbullah deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem expressed optimism that the Syrian-Saudi initiative would solve the Lebanese crisis before the international tribunal issues its indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.

“There is still an opportunity to find a solution but the door will not remain open forever,” Qassem told As Safir newspaper in remarks published Saturday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has told his visitors that he is keen on solving the issue of false witnesses either through consensus or voting, the National News Agency reported.

Among Berri’s visitors on Friday, was State Minister Adnan Qassar who said he discussed with the speaker false witnesses and the international tribunal.

All-party talks will be re-launched soon following a success in consultations carried out by President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace, An Nahar newspaper reported Saturday.

The daily quoted Baabda palace visitors as saying that Suleiman did not ask Lebanese officials with whom he held consultations about their opinion on putting the issue of false witnesses on the agenda of the national dialogue.

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir hoped on Friday that Lebanese leaders would unify ranks and consult with President Michel Suleiman on ways to take Lebanon out of its crisis.

"Lebanon is going through a critical situation," Sfeir told a delegation from Voice of Lebanon radio station that moved to Dbayeh.

An indictment of Hizbullah members in connection with the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri could forever tarnish the party's image as a resistance movement and threaten its raison d'etre, analysts say.

"Whether one single member or 100 are implicated makes absolutely no difference, Hizbullah won't accept it" said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a political analyst at the Doha-based Arab Institute for Research and Policy Studies.

Saudi Ambassador Ali Awad Assiri has denied there was a Saudi-Syrian initiative aimed at stirring Lebanon out of its crisis, saying Riyadh and the international community were keen on seeing an inter-Lebanese agreement over the deadlock.

“There is no Saudi-Syrian initiative for a solution. There are suggestions,” Assiri told As Safir daily in an interview published Friday.

Arab diplomatic sources in Beirut said that Premier Saad Hariri sent a letter to the Syrian leadership stressing his commitment to agreements reached between Damascus and Riyadh.

The letter came in response to accusations that Hariri was not committed to Riyadh’s demands on a settlement of the Lebanese crisis, the sources told As Safir newspaper.