March 14 General-Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid stressed that the ruling coalition was the strongest in Lebanon and accused the March 8 alliance of seeking to bring in a new premier by the force of arms.

“We are still the strongest team because we hold onto the right of the Lebanese to decide their fate,” Soaid told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Friday. “We reject attempts by an armed party to lay its hand on Lebanon.”

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said he was surprised by the “erroneous interpretations” of his remarks on the situation in Lebanon and stressed support for Lebanese legitimacy.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, al-Faisal denied that he had told al-Arabiya TV network there was a change in Saudi policy towards Lebanon.

Speaker Nabih Berri welcomed Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri’s speech and lauded the Mustaqbal movement leader’s decision to abide by the constitution and accept democratic results.

However, in remarks to An Nahar and As Safir dailies on Friday, Berri wondered why the March 14 forces severely criticized the March 8 alliance’s “constitutional” decision to resign from the government.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Affairs Alain Le Roy expressed “deep concern” over the situation in Lebanon and said UNIFIL has taken “precautionary measures” to confront any possible deterioration.

“We are deeply concerned over the political developments particularly in Beirut,” Le Roy said in New York on Thursday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani on Thursday stressed "the importance of stability, security and preventing the aggravation of the situation in Lebanon," Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported.

Talks between Assad and Sheikh Hamad, who arrived in Damascus on a sudden visit, dealt with "the bilateral relations between the two countries and the latest developments in the region, particularly in Lebanon, amid the failure of the efforts aimed at reaching a solution there," SANA added.

The United States stands ready to help Lebanon out of its ongoing political impasse, but it is ultimately up to Beirut to resolve the crisis, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters Thursday.

Asked at a press conference about international mediation efforts following the collapse this week of Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government, Clinton said: "We stand ready, as do many others in the region and beyond, to be of assistance," Clinton said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri confirmed on Thursday his candidacy for a new term, after Hizbullah and its allies prompted the collapse of his government last week.

"A constitutional process is under way and we will accept its results despite intimidation on the street and elsewhere," Hariri said in a televised address to the nation.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has stressed that Lebanon will not be able to "turn the page on political assassinations forever without achieving justice," noting that stability in Lebanon was "everyone's essential demand."

"Any party that wants to mess with it (stability) will have to confront several foes -- Lebanese, Arabs and others," Abul Gheit said in an interview with Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai to be published Friday.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal's recent statements that the Kingdom has abandoned the Saudi-Syrian mediation to end the Lebanese political crisis are a "loud warning bell signifying the magnitude of the Lebanese problem," reported Saudi al-Watan newspaper on Thursday.

The decisive Saudi position came as a result of Hizbullah's ignoring of the diplomatic efforts by countries keen on Lebanon's stability, security, and unity, it continued.

Caretaker Education Minister Hasan Mneimneh criticized on Thursday “media incitement aimed at weakening the government and confusing the citizen.”

He praised during a press conference the achievements of the now caretaker government saying: “In his role as prime minister, Saad Hariri stood at an equal distance from all his ministers and ministries … but the opposition bargained the country’s needs because of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”