The Special Tribunal for Lebanon praised on Wednesday Premier Najib Miqati’s announcement that he had transferred Beirut’s share of funding to the court probing the murder of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.

“We are greatly encouraged by the Lebanese PM's announcement that 2011 contribution to the STL has been transferred to our account,” the court said on twitter.

Premier Najib Miqati said he transferred Lebanon’s share of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon funding on Wednesday morning.

While Miqati did not elaborate on the funding mechanism, a government official said the $32 million sent to the Netherlands-based STL were drawn from the prime minister's office's budget and as such did not need cabinet approval.

President Michel Suleiman said on Wednesday that the collapse of the cabinet will have negative repercussions on Lebanon as Speaker Nabih Berri expected that the majority will reach a safe haven concerning the crisis.

Sources close to Suleiman told As Safir newspaper that the president agreed with officials he met on Tuesday that “no one has an interest in forcing the collapse of the current cabinet.”

Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas did not confirm Wednesday whether Change and Reform bloc ministers would attend a cabinet session set to discuss the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

“There is a possibility that the bloc’s ministers would attend the cabinet sessions,” Nahhas told Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3).

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat considered on Wednesday that the priority at this “critical stage” is to seek consensus between the cabinet members to safeguard the stability of Lebanon amid the turmoil in the region.

“The current cabinet is essential to ensure stability because any other alternative would merely lead to a (political) vacuum,” Jumblat said in remarks published in As Safir newspaper.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun criticized on Tuesday the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, deeming it a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

He noted after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “There were no binding reasons that required the formation of the STL under chapter seven of the U.N. Charter.”

Hizbullah Minister Mohammed Fneish said the Shiite party will attend a cabinet session set to discuss the funding of the international tribunal on Wednesday but stressed that it continues to reject the payment of Lebanon’s share to the court.

Following talks with Premier Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail, Fneish said: “Miqati continues to hold onto his stance … so do we.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati refused on Tuesday to discuss Wednesday’s cabinet session, saying that he prefers not to comment on the issue while matters are still being studied.

He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri: “It’s normal to hold another session if quorum is not met.”

The March 8 forces are preparing for the post-Prime Minister Najib Miqati stage as Hizbullah is expected to object the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon during Wednesday’s cabinet session.

The Hizbullah leadership began over the past two weeks preparing for the post-Miqati stage, if the premier carried out his threat to resign if the funding of the STL wasn’t approved by the cabinet, sources told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.

Ministers loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun began on Monday pressuring Premier Najib Miqati to meet their demands after Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas referred a series of decrees on the wage boost to the cabinet.

Nahhas’ move came a few days after the Change and Reform bloc ministers conditioned their participation in the government on a series of requests that Miqati should meet. Among them is the increase in salaries and the approval of development projects.