Premier-designate Tammam Salam has agreed to give the cabinet formation efforts more time after warnings by Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat against the formation of a fait accompli government, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Sunday.

“We waited for nine months to reach a solution and consensus that would steer the country away from divisions on the cabinet but nothing came up from the procrastination,” the newspaper quoted Salam as saying.

The United States supports the formation of a new government in Lebanon, but it also sets as a priority the preservation of stability in Lebanon, As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

It also opposes any measure that may jeopardize Lebanon's stability, U.S. Ambassador David Hale told President Michel Suleiman during a meeting they held away from the media spotlight between Christmas and New Year's eve.

Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed the importance of forming a “consensual government” in order to avert any political conflicts, reported various media outlets on Saturday.

The two officials have warned against the formation of a neutral cabinet, “which will have catastrophic repercussions on Lebanon,” As Safir newspaper quoted Jumblat as telling Suleiman during a meeting earlier this week.

The deadly explosion that hit Beirut's southern neighborhood of Haret Hreik on Thursday afternoon drew a wave of condemnation by local political leaders that considered that terrorism is targeting all Lebanese people.

The blast killed at least 4 people and wounded 75 others.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that the intention behind the formation of a new non partisan government is to exclude Hizbullah, a process that he rejected by warning that the lawmakers of his parliamentary bloc would not give their vote of confidence to it.

Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Thursday quoted Berri as saying that his Amal movement would not “isolate” Hizbullah which has fought and resisted Israel.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday described the announced Saudi donation to the Lebanese Army as an “important step,” urging all parties to respond to it positively.

“It is a must to laud and hail the important step that was achieved through the Saudi-French cooperation that is aimed at supporting and boosting the capabilities of the Lebanese Army,” said Jumblat in a statement issued by the PSP.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Monday called for "neutralizing Lebanon from the blazing Syrian crisis,” warning against “drowning in the massive chaos the region is going through.”

“The assassination of an enlightened and moderate figure such as the martyr Mohammed Shatah cannot stop the progress of moderation, free thinking and dialogue because that would be contradicting with the principles championed by the martyr himself,” Jumblat said in his weekly editorial in al-Anbaa newspaper.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea met with Progressive Socialist Party head MP Walid Jumblat last week, LBCI television reported on Thursday.

"The meeting took place during a dinner banquet thrown by (National Struggle Front) MP Nehme Tohme,” LBCI said.

Hizbullah deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem warned on Thursday the formation of a cabinet other than all-embracing national political government, saying that "all options are open.”

Qassem speaking to Hizbullah's al-Manar channel lashed out at proposals to form a neutral or de-facto cabinets, pointing out that these kind of governments would spread “chaos, danger and complications.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed on Wednesday that talks are ongoing to end the current deadlock in the country, considering that the 6-9-9 cabinet formula would paralyze the country if adopted.

“Our stance concerning the government formation is clear,” Gaegea told reporters at Bkirki after hold a behind-closed doors meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to offer his congratulations on the occasion of Christmas.