A Maronite delegation has told Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun that President Michel Suleiman should have a say in the appointments of civil servants in posts reserved for Christians, An Nahar daily reported Tuesday.

The newspaper said that former Ministers Michel Edde and Wadih Khazen, and Joseph Tarabay were delegated by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to resolve the issue of appointments.

A delegation from the Maronite Patriarchate visited Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday and discussed with him the latest developments locally and regionally.

The conferees “discussed the latest developments locally and regionally and agreed to continue their coordination on different issues,” a statement issued by Hizbullah’s press office said on Tuesday.

The cabinet is set to tackle the wage hike during its session on Wednesday amid intense contacts between the premiership, the economic committees and the General Labor Confederation to seek a solution for the controversial issue and avert a strike scheduled to be held next week.

“The wages issue will top the cabinet’s agenda on Wednesday,” Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s sources told As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.

Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan reportedly told Speaker Nabih Berri that the Maronite leaders’ decision to support the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal on the electoral draft law should be a foundation for a serious dialogue among Lebanese politicians.

An Nahar daily quoted Kanaan as telling Berri during a meeting held on Monday that the Christians refuse the status quo imposed on them since the adoption of the Taef Accord in 1989.

A delegation from Cyprus will arrive on Wednesday in Beirut to continue the discussions with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and Lebanese experts over the demarcation of the maritime borders between the two countries.

As Safir newspaper reported on Tuesday that the delegation will hold talks with Mansour as Cypriot experts will visit Lebanon later on.

President Michel Suleiman on Monday expressed his “relief” after Syria signed a protocol with the Arab League to allow observers to monitor the implementation of an Arab deal to end nine months of bloodshed, in comments carried by state-run National News Agency.

“Syria’s signing of the protocol with the Arab League would pave the ground for addressing all the aspects of the ongoing crisis, putting the democratic system into practice in a full manner, and restoring security and civil peace,” Suleiman said.

The Phalange Party politburo praised on Monday the Maronite leaders’ meeting last week that reached an agreement on adopting the Orthodox gathering’s proposals on a parliamentary electoral law, saying that it demonstrated that the Christians share common concerns.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “The Maronite leaders’ agreement paves the way for further agreements on national principles that can provide the basis for their work in the future.”

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins hoped on Monday that the Lebanese authorities will take the necessary measures to bring those behind the attacks against the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon to justice.

He said after holding talks with Hizbullah International Relations official Ammar Moussawi: “It is in the interest of all parties to ensure that security is guaranteed for those, such as UNIFIL troops, who are trying to maintain stability in the South along the Blue Line.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Monday that the best thing that came out of the United States’ invasion of Iraq was its toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “Despite the tens of thousands of lives that were lost in the invasion, the attack did at least accomplish one good thing and that is the toppling of a fascist regime.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed on Monday the importance of dialogue in reaching an agreement over a parliamentary electoral law.

He told Radio Orient: “Dialogue over the law is ongoing with all our allies.”