Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun renewed on Tuesday his refusal to grant President Michel Suleiman a Cabinet portfolio, saying: “If he were with us, then there’s no need to grant him a portfolio.”

The MP asked after the movement’s weekly meeting: “Should we withdraw from rule so that he is granted portfolios? Who came up with this rule and when?”

French diplomatic sources stressed on Monday that Paris has no problems with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati “who had a successful run as prime minister in 2005.”

They told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency that Paris noted that some MPs were pressured to nominate Miqati to his position, “but it is awaiting what will come of the government formation and the establishment of the ministerial statement … in order to determine its position in these affairs.”

U.S. Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman stressed on Tuesday that Washington is watching to see whether Lebanon's future government will respect the findings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Lieberman said after meeting with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati that the U.S. State Department considers Hizbullah a terrorist organization and any role the party has in the new government will affect how the U.S. deals with it.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati stressed Tuesday that he wasn’t holding onto power but at the same time would not give up the task of forming the government.

“I will not give up the (cabinet) formation task not because I am holding onto power but out of conviction that I should carry on with my mission to preserve the stability and unity of Lebanon and the role of constitutional institutions,” Miqati said in a chat with reporters.

Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri held talks with U.S. Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman at Center House on Monday, a statement from his press office said.

The meeting was attended by U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly, Nader Hariri, and advisors Mohammed Shatah and Hani Hammoud.

Lebanese officials allied with Syria have denied to An Nahar newspaper that Damascus was meddling in the government formation process in Lebanon.

“It has been more than four weeks that Premier-designate (Najib) Miqati was tasked with forming the government without Syrian intervention,” the sources said.

This week should be decisive for Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s attempts to form a new government, Speaker Nabih Berri told the English-language The Daily Star newspaper.

“This week will be decisive. It will see the beginning of the final stage of the birth of the new government,” Berri said in the remarks published Tuesday.

President Michel Suleiman travels to Rome on Tuesday to participate in a ceremony that would unveil the St. Maroun Statue at the Vatican, further delaying the formation of the government.

The ceremony will take place at the St. Peter’s square on Wednesday and will be attended by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, Lebanese expatriates and representatives of political parties.

Lebanon’s highest Shiite religious authority has slammed the international tribunal as a political tool designed to target Hizbullah and urged Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s cabinet not to cooperate with it.

The Higher Shiite Islamic Council’s religious and executive committees said in a statement following a meeting on Monday that the council considers the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as “null and void.”

Lebanese aviation authorities have reportedly refused to give the permission for a private Libyan jet with 10 people on board to land at Rafik Hariri international airport.

As Safir daily said Tuesday that the plane was due to take off from Tripoli’s airport before midnight but Lebanese authorities asked Libya to unveil the identity of the 10 people before allowing the jet to land in Lebanon.