President Michel Suleiman noted that in light of the changes in the Arab world, it would be unacceptable for Lebanon to fail to hold the parliamentary elections in 2013, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.

He told the newspaper: “The elections should be held regardless of which electoral law is adopted.”

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffery Feltman is expected to arrive in Lebanon next week where he is scheduled to hold talks with a number of officials, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

The talks are likely to focus on the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon and the 2013 parliamentary elections, said the daily.

Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi has appeased fears on the fate of salaries of civil servants, saying the employees in state institutions will receive their wages but all other spending would stop if the government doesn’t make additional appropriations.

In remarks to As Safir daily published Friday, Safadi said: “Pending the approval of the additional funds, all spending would stop except for the payment of salaries for employees, contractors and pensioners in the public sector.”

President Michel Suleiman on Thursday stressed that “any solution must happen in coordination with Syria” instead of being imposed by outside forces, noting that Lebanon and Syria enjoy a state-to-state relation.

During talks with visiting Austrian President Heinz Fischer at the Baabda palace, Suleiman added: “We hope no foreign military intervention will occur in Syria.”

The cabinet is once again showing signs of division among cabinet members but this time on the $5.9 billion extra-budgetary spending of 2011 that has seen centrists criticizing March 8 majority members for pressuring President Michel Suleiman into signing the bill after parliament failed to approve it.

During a cabinet session held at Baabda palace on Wednesday, the ministers loyal to Hizbullah, Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement exerted pressure on the president to use his constitutional authorities by resorting to article 58 of the constitution which allows him to issue a bill deemed urgent by the government after the failure of the legislature to approve it.

President Michel Suleiman reiterated on Thursday that he rejects to sign any decree that contains “legal and constitutional violations,” shrugging off demands by the March 8 forces to approve the $5.9 billion extra-budgetary spending of 2011.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, a day after the government tackled the issue, Suleiman said: “I won’t sign the decree because it includes legal and constitutional violations.”

The government approved on Wednesday a mechanism that would allow Lebanese expatriates to vote in the 2013 parliamentary elections and approved a reduction in the weight of the Arabic bread pack to appease bakeries.

The government is scheduled to hold a meeting at the Grand Serail next Wednesday to discuss the details of the mechanism and ways to implement it, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq told reporters after the session held at the presidential palace.

President Michel Suleiman reiterated his rejection to sign a decree that would legitimize the $5.9 billion spending bill of Premier Najib Miqati’s government to avoid subjecting it to an appeal.

In remarks to Ad-Diyar daily published Wednesday, Suleiman said that the parliamentary finance and budget committee had made several important remarks on the bill.

Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammed Fneish slammed on Wednesday a proposal by al-Mustaqbal movement to form a neutral or technocrat cabinet to supervise the upcoming 2013 elections.

“There’s nothing called a technocrat or a neutral government. We have the Taef accord, unless we are required to import such a new combination,” Fneish told As Safir newspaper.

Speaker Nabih Berri has moved to the stage of inquiring Lebanese politicians about their stances from his electoral proposal based on proportional representation that considers Lebanon a single district.

The first stop was President Michel Suleiman when Berri dispatched Ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Mohammed Fneish to Baabda palace on Tuesday.