MP Hadi Abou al-Hosn of the Progressive Socialist Party noted that the agreement between the opposition and the Free Patriotic Movement over Jihad Azour’s nomination is “positive” although it came “late.”

“Ex-MP Walid Jumblat had proposed ex-minister Jihad Azour as one of three presidential candidates five months ago, without finding sufficient dynamism from some parties to endorse this nomination,” Abou al-Hosn said in a radio interview.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday called for a June 14 presidential election session, a day after the opposition officially endorsed ex-minister Jihad Azour as its presidential candidate.

It will be the 12th time that parliament tries to elect a new president after 11 fruitless sessions, the last of which was held on January 19.

Opposition lawmakers on Sunday nominated Jihad Azour, an International Monetary Fund regional director and former minister, for president.

MP Mark Daou of the Change bloc read a statement on behalf of 32 opposition legislators, endorsing Azour after weeks of negotiations "as a candidate that is not considered provocative by any political factor in the country." The lawmakers belong to the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party and the Tajaddod bloc in addition to several independent and Change MPs.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday said he welcomes “every step towards understanding and consensus over a president’s election,” as the opposition prepares to declare the name of its presidential candidate.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has announced that the FPM has “intersected” with the opposition over Jihad Azour’s nomination, while noting that “this intersection is important but not enough for the election of a president.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that he will “immediately” call for a presidential election session once Jihad Azour’s nomination becomes “serious.”

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has mockingly said that "he can't sleep at night", as he downplayed U.S. sanction threats.

"They think they can intimidate me," Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Friday.

The British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamish Cowell, has inaugurated the newly rebuilt Fish Market in Sidon.

The Progressive Socialist Party will soon discuss the nomination of former minister Jihad Azour, PSP MP Wael Abou Faour said.

The lawmaker said all the bloc's MPs will vote for the same candidate.

Nineteen Lebanese officials, including Speaker Nabih Berri, might be sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department if a president is not elected this month, Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported Thursday.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf had reportedly warned Wednesday that her country might impose sanctions on Lebanese officials if they continue to obstruct the election of a new president.