Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stated on Tuesday that the constitution does not grant the president a certain stake in the distribution of government portfolios.

He said after the movement’s weekly meeting: “When the president takes sides in a dispute, then he no longer retains the characteristics of the president as stipulated in the constitution.”

Hizbullah sources refused on Tuesday to comment on Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s statements on Monday on the party’s possession of arms.

“Hariri’s statements are completely rejected because they are based on discrepancies aimed at misleading the public,” they told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati is seeking to intensify his contacts and consultations over the formation of the new government in light of the March 14 camp’s official announcement that it will not take part in it.

The main obstacle in the formation process lies in Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s demands, which he seems more attached to than ever, reported Al-Akhbar on Tuesday.

Caretaker Minister Michel Pharaon did not confirm a media report on Tuesday that the March 14 forces would celebrate the sixth anniversary of the Cedar Revolution on March 13.

Until now, no decision has been made if the anniversary of March 14 would be held on the 14th or the 13th of March, Pharaon told Voice of Lebanon radio station.

Dutch Ambassador to Lebanon Hero de Boer stressed that justice must take its course on the national and international scenes regarding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

He told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Tuesday that the Netherlands cannot “make guesses over the release date of the indictment” in the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri or over who will be accused in the crime “as these are matters that would severely affect our credibility.”

Speaker Nabih Berri snapped back at Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri saying a country’s “capital would collapse if there is no presence of strong arms on its border.”

“This is exactly what happened in 1982,” Berri told As Safir daily in remarks published Tuesday. “Hadn’t the resistance planted its seeds in the infamous Khalde battle, Israel wouldn’t have gradually pulled out.”

Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s circles accused Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri of holding Miqati responsible for his alliance’s boycott of the new cabinet at a time when Hariri had already made up his mind not to participate in the government.

The circles drew question marks over Hariri’s speech on Monday in which he said March 14 waited for answers from Miqati for a month over its demands on the international tribunal and arms.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon lamented that the latest confrontation between March 8 and 14 forces was accompanied by “sectarian” and “inflammatory” remarks.

In his 15th report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, Ban said Lebanon has been witnessing a political crisis over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Iran's navy chief, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari, has said that Tehran's dispatch of two warships to the Mediterranean last week was not aggressive in aim.

"The Iranian strategy is to reinforce its defensive capacities. We do not harbor aggressive intentions against other countries," Sayari said at a press conference in Damascus on Monday.

Lebanon is expecting the arrival of a technical delegation from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that is scheduled to meet with President Michel Suleiman and Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri to place the finishing touches to the phase preceding the finalization of the indictment in the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Informed sources in the STL's functioning told the Central News Agency on Monday that Pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen and Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare have completed their work sessions to come up with the indictment's final draft.