Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on Friday hoped the army's sacrifices will push all Lebanese to “overcome their differences and disputes” and seek an end to the political crisis.

“It saddens us that we are marking Army Day this year without a president,” said Hariri in a statement marking the 70th anniversary of the creation of the Lebanese army.

Protesters reopened on Monday a vital highway that links Beirut with the South following a pledge made by Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq not to transfer waste to Iqlim al-Kharroub region without a deal with municipalities.

Earlier Monday, three demonstrators and four policemen were injured during a clash when police tried to force protesters to open the Jiyeh highway.

Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq said on Saturday that the collection of garbage will resume overnight after a final decision was reached on the location of the dump sites that would replace the Naameh landfill that was closed last weekend.

His announcement was made after environmentalists held a protest in downtown Beirut calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Tammam Salam and al-Mashnouq over the waste management crisis that erupted when the landfill was shut down last Friday.

A few municipalities in Mount Lebanon began on Friday collecting garbage as a temporary solution to a growing environmental crisis in the hot summer season that erupted after the closure of the Naameh landfill south of Beirut last week.

The number of municipalities, which met the demands of Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq, were however limited.

Lebanese Forces official Melhem Riachi informed Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Thursday that Saudi Arabia encourages the rapprochement between the two parties.

Riachi, who is LF chief Samir Geagea's envoy, delivered a message to Aoun during a visit he made to Rabieh that Riyadh “backs and encourages Christian rapprochement,” local media reported.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, a candidate for the country's top Christian post, has accused Iran of causing Lebanon's presidential deadlock.

“Iran is responsible for the obstruction of the presidential elections in Lebanon,” Geagea told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in an interview published on Tuesday.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea continued on Monday his visit to Saudi Arabia by holding talks with head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri.

The two officials met in the city of Jeddah, said LBCI television.

Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat and his son Taymour are expected to meet with French President Francois Hollande next week, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Friday.

The newspaper said that the meeting is set to take place at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday afternoon.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri lauded Sunday the stances of Prime Minister Tammam Salam regarding the cabinet dispute, as he urged a “realistic solution” to the presidential crisis and noted that there is no “veto” on any candidate.

“They did not meet us halfway after we proposed our roadmap last year … but the crises make us more determined to propose solutions,” said Hariri via video link during Mustaqbal's annual iftar banquet.

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq returned to Lebanon from a trip to Saudi Arabia where they held talks on the latest local developments with Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.

Informed sources told the daily: “The officials agreed on measures to confront these developments and prevent the escalation of the government crisis.”