Efforts exerted by top Maronite leaders to hold a summit on May 17 in Bkirki were unsuccessful as sharp differences over the presidential elections widened the gap between the political arch-foes.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Thursday, Christian leaders informed two envoys tasked by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi that there's no enthusiasm voiced by any official to attend the meeting.

U.S. Ambassador David Hale welcomed a proposal for a constitutional amendment to keep President Michel Suleiman in his post after the expiry of his six-year term on May 25, March 14 alliance officials said.

Hale made his stance during a luncheon thrown by March 14 General-Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid, the officials told al-Mustaqbal newspaper published on Wednesday.

The controversial debate over extending the term of President Michel Suleiman created further rift among the political arch-foes as Bkirki denied that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi proposed the matter.

“The Patriarch merely proposed an idea to avert any vacuum” at the helm of the country's top Christian post, Bkirki spokesperson Walid Ghayad said in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Tuesday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said Bkirki would not enter into a direct confrontation with any political party over the presidential deadlock although it would have harsh words against those paralyzing the elections.

In an interview with el-Shark daily published on Monday, Geagea said: “Bkirki does not play the role of a political party and does not put itself in a confrontation with any party.”

Hizbullah on Sunday stressed that the country's new president must be “in harmony with the resistance,” accusing the March 14 camp of seeking presidential vacuum through fielding a “provocative” candidate.

“We insist on and cling to a president who would be entrusted with the national principles, interests and achievements, contrary to the March 14 camp, which is awaiting a chance to turn against the domestic political equations,” deputy head of Hizbullah's executive council Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said at a memorial service in the southern town of Kafra.

The Mustaqbal Movement and Lebanese Forces held a meeting on Friday to discuss the latest developments linked to the presidential elections, agreeing that Hizbullah is adopting policies “that do not favor Lebanon's interests,” reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

It said that the meeting between Mustaqbal and LF officials, in the presence of an unnamed major political figure, concluded that Hizbullah is attempting to impose its candidate or vacuum in the presidency through the ongoing obstruction of quorum at parliament.

Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel stressed that contacts between various political leaderships is necessary in order to stage the presidential elections, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday.

He praised to the daily Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's recent “positive” proposal to withdraw his candidacy from the presidential elections if a deal was reached to back the candidacy of another March 14 alliance member.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea preferred a presidential vacuum over Hizbullah's rule, saying his ally in the March 14 alliance ex-PM Saad Hariri would not accept a deal to elect Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun as a consensual president in return for taking the helm of the new cabinet.

In an interview with pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat published on Saturday, Geagea said: “We wouldn't have much options if there was vacuum … We would either hold onto our stances or surrender the country to Hizbullah and its allies.”

Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel on Friday revealed that things “are not deadlocked” in negotiations over the upcoming presidential elections, noting that his recent talks with local leaders did not tackle the names of any potential candidates.

The former president also stated that his own candidacy was suggested before that of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.

European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst has said it is important for a candidate, who garners a wide support, to be elected as president.

In an interview with An Nahar daily published on Friday, Eichhorst said the president-elect should “enjoy a large support base.”