Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov arrived in Beirut on Thursday on a four-day official visit to hold talks with senior Lebanese officials as part of his regional tour.

The Russian diplomat will hold talks with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and PM-designate Tammam Salam.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said on Wednesday Hizbullah's interference in battles in Damascus would “tarnish its image,” pointing out that the Syrian people don't need Jihadists from Lebanon or any other country to back its revolt.

“As the situation in Syria is deteriorating and the Lebanese are plunging in this swamp, officials should reiterate importance of abiding by the dissociation policy,” Jumblat said in a statement.

Rival lawmakers failed on Tuesday to reach an agreement on a hybrid electoral draft-law after they accused each other of obstructing attempts to achieve consensus on a system that would replace the 1960 law.

“Despite our conviction that the country is in a difficult situation and we have certain responsibilities .. we found out that the gap between some members is still very huge,” MP Robert Ghanem, the chairman of a parliamentary subcommittee, said.

Political parties have proposed to Premier-Designate Tammam Salam more than 180 names for only a 24-member government, An Nahar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The number is expected to rise pending a final step by Salam in handing over the portfolios to the right people, An Nahar said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Monday the emergence of positive signs that the political powers may reach an agreement over the hybrid parliamentary electoral law.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “We renew the party's readiness to exercise the necessary flexibility to bolster the chances of reaching an agreement over a new law.”

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam has reportedly clinched a preliminary deal with the country's major political parties to form a 24-member cabinet made up of figures who are not running in the parliamentary elections.

Official sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat are playing a major role along with Salam to bring the new cabinet to light.

The cabinet formation process, which had been slow in the past weeks, began witnessing some developments after Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam held talks with centrist Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat and officials from the March 8 alliance.

Reports said that Salam met on Thursday night with Jumblat, who returned to Beirut following a visit to the UK.

Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour stressed on Friday that the discussions over the formation of a new government are not “bleak,” said various media reports Saturday.

He said: “Discussions did not reach a dead-end.”

A decision by the National Struggle Front of MP Walid Jumblat to challenge the suspension of deadlines applicable under the 1960 electoral law has received the “tacit approval” of President Michel Suleiman and al-Mustaqbal bloc chief Fouad Saniora, An Nahar daily reported on Monday.

The Front's intention to challenge before the constitutional council parliament's endorsement of a draft-law that suspended the deadlines until May 19 was revealed by caretaker Minister Wael Abou Faour, who is a member of Jumblat's Progressive Socialist Party.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam has reportedly proposed to President Michel Suleiman a 14-member cabinet that was strongly criticized by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat for being a “civil war plan.”

Al-Akhbar newspaper quoted sources as saying that Salam made the proposal during a meeting they held at Baabda palace last week. But when the president informed Jumblat about it, the PSP chief replied: “This is a civil war plan.”