French President Francois Hollande urged on Saturday his Lebanese counterpart President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati to avoid any political vacuum in the country and for the cabinet to continue its tasks.

“It's very important that Lebanon doesn't fall in a political vacuum... The cabinet must carry on with its tasks,” Hollande said in a letter conveyed to Suleiman by French Ambassador to Lebanon Patrice Paoli.

Speaker Nabih Berri hit back on Thursday at Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, saying he is the one who has been trying to “tolerate” the LF leader.

“He's right. He can't tolerate me and I'm the one who's been trying to tolerate him and stomach him,” Berri hit out, after Geagea announced that the March 14 forces will not “tolerate” Berri as parliament speaker after the 2013 legislative elections.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea indirectly admitted that the March 14 forces had committed a mistake by agreeing to maintaining Speaker Nabih Berri in his position after the camp won a majority in the 2009 parliamentary elections, reported al-Akhbar newspaper on Thursday.

He told the daily: “With all due respect to Berri, we can no longer tolerate him as parliament speaker. We must form a harmonious government just as the other camp did.”

United Nations and Arab League envoy to end the Syrian crisis Lakhdar Brahimi held talks on Wednesday with senior Lebanese officials on the conflict in the neighboring country, warning the unrest there will inevitably spread to the region.

He hoped that the ceasefire set for the Eid al-Adha holiday “will pave the way for a permanent solution to the crisis.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday that he is exerting efforts and contacts with Lebanese foes to reach a convenient electoral law that is compatible with the Taef accord, local newspapers reported.

“If I reach a result, then I will refer it to the electoral subcommittee,” Berri said.

Speaker Nabih Berri highlighted on Monday the role the residents of the Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon have played in the country and the region over the years, saying that they have not harmed the state, but it has committed shortcomings against them.

He said before a delegation of Bekaa clans: “We discussed with political authorities, Hizbullah officials, and the army command the need for a security plan in the region even at the cost of withdrawing some soldiers in the South and deploying them in the Bekaa.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that any electoral draft law that suggests tipping the victory of a particular political group over another would only receive rejection from the other, which compels the necessity to agree on a law that finds the approval and reassurance of all sides, the An Nahar daily said Saturday.

In an interview to the daily Berri stressed that “efforts are underway to study all proposed draft law projects until we find the appropriate one that finds approval of all parties.”

The cabinet's approval cabinet of a long-awaited batch of administrative appointments was made possible after a settlement was reached between President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, reported As Safir newspaper on Thursday.

Widely informed sources told the daily that Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Speaker Nabih Berri played a key role in resolving the dispute and reaching the settlement between the two disputed officials.

Speaker Nabih Berri considered on Wednesday that some parties in the country are deliberately wasting time to avoid the adoption of a new electoral law.

Berri's comments were transmitted by MPs who visited him during his weekly meeting with lawmakers. The speaker also announced that the unit to start discussing proposed drafts will be formed during Thursday's joint parliamentary committees' meeting.

President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri agreed to adopt a draft law that combines the proportional representation and winner-takes-all systems as a settlement to the sharp differences among Lebanese political foes over the matter, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Sources close to the two officials told the newspaper that they voiced their support to a draft law proposed by the Burtos Committee in 2005 which was headed by former Foreign Minister Fouad Butros.