Officials loyal to Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat visited Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh on Saturday as part of the initiative aimed at resolving the country's political crisis.

The delegation included Minister Alaeddine Terro, MP Akram Shehayeb and PSP Secretary Zafer Nasser.

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin hailed on Saturday Hizbullah's adherence to preserve Lebanon's stability, ruling out any possibility of an Israeli aggression on the country.

“In light of the current developments, I do not think that Israel would wage an aggression on Lebanon,” said Zasypkin in an interview to the As Safir daily.

Politically divided Lebanese made on Saturday a show of unity during an official ceremony in Rome that allowed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to join the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope.

Pope Benedict XVI formally elevated five other prelates at the ceremony that was held at St. Peter's Basilica, bestowing red hats and gold rings on them.

Disagreement on the Lebanese official delegation's participation in Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's appointment as cardinal in Rome prevented the attendance of Speaker Nabih Berri and Premier Najib Miqati, al-Liwaa daily reported on Saturday.

The newspaper said that both Berri and Miqati refused to become “accessories” and wait in line following Suleiman's insistence to hold separate talks with Pope Benedict XVI on the eve of the ceremony.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Thursday that no one should request the authorities to hand over suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination because they are innocent until proven guilty.

“No party has the right to request the handing over of the suspects because a suspect is innocent until proven guilty and the issue is up to the judiciary to decide,” al-Rahi said in response to a question on the request made by the March 14 opposition alliance.

Pope Benedict XVI met on Friday with President Michel Suleiman who is in Rome to attend the ceremony of the official appointment of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi as cardinal.

Suleiman did not make any statement after the meeting held at the Vatican.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will on Saturday become the fourth patriarch from Lebanon to be appointed as cardinal in the Catholic church during a ceremony at the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI will appoint al-Rahi and five other non-European prelates at St. Peter's Basilica where they are given red hats and gold rings.

President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday stressed that the current circumstances require the rival parties to show willingness to engage in national dialogue, noting that the Baabda Declaration is the only means to find a national defense strategy.

“Independence Day is an occasion to remember the joy of freedom and evaluate the bitterments and achievements of the past decades,” the president said in a televised address to the nation on the eve of Independence Day.

Syrian President Bashar Assad congratulated on Wednesday President Michel Suleiman on the occasion of Lebanon's Independence Day.

The Syrian national news agency SANA reported that Assad's letter contained a felicitation from the Syrian people to “their brothers in Lebanon”.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat's initiative to end the political crisis in the country is seeking to find common ground among the political foes to end the deadlock, local newspapers reported on Wednesday.

Jumblat's initiative is based on finding an alternative to Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet without causing any political vacuum in the country.