Government formation process has reached a deadlock after a dispute over the cabinet's ministerial statement between the political foes, local newspaper reported on Thursday.
Sources told As Safir newspaper that the cabinet formation is expected to be delayed as the March 14 alliance is holding on to its conditions to include the dissociation policy in the ministerial statement and excluding the the formula of the “Army,people, and resistance.”

Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati has expressed confidence in Speaker Nabih Berri's ability to overcome the obstacle of the new government's policy statement.
“I am confident that Speaker Nabih Berri is capable through his wisdom and follow up to find the appropriate solution to this issue,” Miqati said in remarks to Lebanese and Kuwaiti journalists at the Lebanese Embassy in Kuwait on Tuesday night.

Speaker Nabih Berri has denied that he was questioned by al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora over the consultations on the government formation process.
Berri told local dailies published on Wednesday that he stressed to Saniora the importance of keeping discussions on the policy statement to the aftermath of the cabinet formation.

Intensive consultations to form a new cabinet continued on Tuesday among the various political parties as former Prime Minister Saad Hariri held phone talks with his Christian allies.
Hariri telephoned Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Phalange Party Central Committee Coordinator MP Sami Gemayel and discussed with them the latest developments in the formation process, after the two Christian leaders voiced concerns on Monday.

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora described as “good” a meeting he held on Monday with Speaker Nabih Berri.
He said after the talks: “We had a good and beneficial meeting and we will continue consultations over the formation of a new government.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday voiced his country's support for forming an all-embracing cabinet in Lebanon, hoping for the activation of the economic agreements between the two countries, “especially after the lifting of the international sanctions” that were imposed on Tehran.
Zarif's remarks were voiced at the end of an official visit to Lebanon during which he met with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed optimism on Monday over the ongoing contacts to form a new cabinet between the political foes, hailing the efforts exerted by head of al-Mustaqbal movement former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
“Ex-PM Saad Hariri isn't only cooperating with endeavors to form an all-embracing cabinet but also cooperating to remove all obstacles confronting it,” Berri said in comments published in local newspapers.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Sunday reported “positive” developments in the cabinet formation process, noting that Speaker Nabih Berri “always facilitates things.”
Jumblat, who visited Ain el-Tineh with caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour, told al-Manar TV that “meetings with Berri always lead to positive things.”

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora visited on Saturday President Michel Suleiman, who urged all parties to make concessions to form a government that wins parliament's vote of confidence.
Saniora's press office said after his talks with Suleiman at Baabda Palace that the meeting was “serious” and “honest.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri reportedly gave on Friday his approval on a cabinet based on the 8-8-8 lineup, as President Michel Suleiman stated he will form a government if no consensus was reached between the political foes.
"A meeting held between (caretaker Social Affairs Minister) Wael Abu Faour and (head of Hariri's office) Nader Hariri has ended a while ago and the former PM accepted the 8-8-8 cabinet formula,” LBCI television reported on Friday evening.
