Controversy loomed on Friday after several media outlets reported that a meeting was held between head of al-Mustaqbal movement and former premier MP Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil in the western Saudi city of Jeddah.

The state-run National News Agency denied that the two officials had met, despite reporting the news earlier in the day.

The council of ministers on Thursday approved the one billion dollar Saudi grant to the Lebanese army, as reports said the needs of the military institution and of the Internal Security Forces will be provided soon.

The cabinet also tasked Education Minister Elias Bou Saab with issuing passing statements to students who applied for official exams on Saturday at most, after negotiations failed with the Syndicate Coordination Committee.

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement and former Premier MP Saad Hariri will reportedly return to Lebanon but will not settle in the country.

Sources close to al-Mustaqbal movement told al-Akhbar newspaper published on Friday, that Hariri will definitely return to Beirut in a time to be revealed later on.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and al-Mustaqbal movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri are in continuous contact but a meeting between them is not near, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Thursday.

Contacts between Aoun and Hariri have not been cut, it said, adding that their relations are based on direct talks or envoys.

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement and former premier MP Saad Hariri headed to Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss with Saudi officials the latest grant to Lebanese security forces.

In a statement issued by his press office, Hariri is expected to hold talks with senior Saudi officials concerning ways to spend the financial grant.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that his rejection to extend parliament's term should be used as a “pressure card” to speed up the election of a new president.

Local dailies on Wednesday quoted Berri as saying that the vacuum at Baabda Palace would remain if the legislature's term was extended for the second time.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam expressed hope that the political arch-foes would reach a breakthrough regarding the political crises in the country, noting that it's the only way to resolve the controversial new pay hike for public employees.

“The solution lies in the agreement between the political powers to activate the work of the state,” Salam told An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday.

Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri said on Monday that he "does not mind" extending the parliament's term if the election of a new head of state was not possible.

"We do not want parliamentary polls before electing a new president and if this was not possible, we support extending the parliament's term," Hariri was quoted as saying after holding talks with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat at the Center House.

The Kataeb Party warned on Monday that the extension of parliament's term is aimed at harming the role of the presidency through “indefinitely” maintaining the presidential vacuum in Lebanon.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “The dangerous developments that Lebanon experienced may reoccur if we do not elect a president.”

British Ambassador Tom Fletcher said Monday that it was necessary for rival Lebanese leaders to come together to face rising threats.

“It is a moment of mounting threats to the country and to its people, so it is even more important than ever that Lebanon’s leaders come together in a spirit of tolerance, moderation, and consensus,” said Fletcher following talks with al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri.