The March 14 general-secretariat vowed on Wednesday to continue to defend Lebanon through peaceful and democratic means and hoped newly-elected Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi would be a guide for Lebanese leaders.

The general-secretariat “holds onto Bkirki’s role in guaranteeing the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon,” it said in a statement following its weekly meeting.

Tawheed Movement leader Wiam Wahhab stressed on Wednesday that his statements on the Saudi woman were “a slip of the tongue.”

He added during a press conference: “I didn’t mean to offend anyone.”

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable revealed that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun considers Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as a more trustworthy figure than those in the March 14 camp.

The cable, published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday, showed Aoun’s insistence that all Lebanese are obligated to support Hizbullah in its confrontation with Israel.

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable revealed that current caretaker Labor Minister Butros Harb was concerned that a Hizbullah victory in the July 2006 war would increase the party’s power in the country.

The cable, which dates back to the July 2006 war, said that Harb believed that the war is loaded with victims, but it lacks in achievements.

A Wikileaks report revealed that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri had advised the international community to keep Syria and Iran in a state of "imbalance".

He added, according to the leaked cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday, that despite Hizbullah's claims of victory in the July 2006 war, the party was in fact greatly harmed in the war and it is weaker politically and militarily.

The Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon invited newly elected Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to visit Syria in the near future, stressing that Damascus wants all the best for Lebanon.

“The new Patriarch is invited to visit Syria where he’s always welcomed,” Ali Abdul Karim Ali said Wednesday in remarks to the press after visiting Bkirki to congratulate the patriarch.

Hizbullah has criticized Arab military intervention in Bahrain, saying it would hamper efforts at finding a peaceful solution to a pro-democracy uprising in the kingdom.

"Military intervention and the use of force against a peaceful popular movement will not lead to a solution and will complicate matters while hampering chances of finding a solution," the party said in a statement late Tuesday.

Political sources have denied that Hizbullah has conditioned Premier-designate Najib Miqati on the inclusion of an article in the cabinet’s policy statement that cuts Lebanon’s ties with the international tribunal.

Hizbullah has decided to deal with each case as it arises, the sources said, adding that Miqati’s government will seek to avoid a confrontation with the international community by steering clear of an immediate agreement to abolish the court.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati has noted that “the political, economic and social challenges facing our country, in addition to the dangerous developments in the region, require the formation of a balanced cabinet in which no group would have the upper hand over the other participating parties.”

“From the time I was designated to form the cabinet, we had decided, the president and I, to abide by the provisions of the Constitution, which defines the duties of each branch of government,” Miqati told his visitors Wednesday.

Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri is scheduled to hold meetings with al-Mustaqbal leaderships and supporters in the northern port city of Tripoli on Wednesday.

As Safir daily said Hariri went to Tripoli on Tuesday night and is expected to reside at the Quality Inn hotel for three days.