Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed confidence on Saturday that the Lebanese are able to foil the plans that aim at spreading sedition and strife among them.

“The Lebanese people are able to overcome the challenges and foil plans to create discord and conflicts among them,” al-Maliki said in a letter sent to his Lebanese counterpart Najib Miqati.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati postponed his scheduled visit to Turkey on Saturday to follow up the abduction of the 11 pilgrims in Syria.

“I have decided to postpone my visit as the contacts and the efforts to release the abducted Lebanese are still ongoing,” Miqati said in a statement issued by his press office.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s efforts to ensure the release of the Lebanese pilgrims who were abducted earlier this week have not gone unnoticed by the rival political camps in Lebanon, with both sides praising his efforts.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stated that Hariri “played a very important role” in the release, reported the Kuwaiti al-Seyasseh newspaper on Saturday.

The families of the pilgrims abducted in Syria issued a statement on Saturday condemning the delay of their release, holding Turkey responsible for it.

They held it responsible for maintaining the pilgrims’ safety and “ensuring their safe return to Lebanon as soon as possible.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Friday called for dialogue “for the sake of rescuing the country and overcoming obstacles,” stressing that “nothing is impossible.”

Commenting on the release on Friday of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were abducted in Syria’s Aleppo, Jumblat told Future News television: “The phone call between (former) premier Sheikh Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri was the most important thing, because problems can be overcome through communication and dialogue.”

Jubilation turned into anxious waiting in Lebanon on Friday after top officials said eleven Lebanese Shiite pilgrims abducted in Syria have been freed and conflicting reports emerged about the exact timing of their arrival in Beirut and about whether or not they were handed over to Turkish authorities.

According to a statement issue by Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s office, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu informed the premier that the pilgrims are doing well and that they were on their way to Beirut.

The request of the March 14 forces for the formation of a neutral salvation government during a conference held on Thursday came after three weeks of preparations when the opposition discovered that the Syrian regime is preparing to ignite tension in Lebanon, high-ranking March 14 sources said Friday.

“The preparation for the meeting began around three weeks ago when it became clear that the Syrian regime had decided that the decision of steering Lebanon clear (of the crisis in Syria) was over and that this regime was preparing something for Lebanon,” sources told An Nahar daily.

Top Lebanese officials rejected conditions set by the March 14 opposition for the resumption of dialogue, saying the March 14 coalition should participate in the all-party talks without providing any excuses.

“Before calling for (the formation of) a neutral cabinet, let it first participate in the dialogue,” Speaker Nabih Berri’s visitors quoted him as saying.

Speaker Nabih Berri urged Iraq and Iran to limit the visits for Lebanese Shiites pilgrims to the holy sites in those two countries to flights by air.

An Nahar newspaper reported on Friday that the speaker contacted Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon Omar al-Barzanji and Iranian Ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi to demand them to halt all visits by land.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday the importance of national dialogue in ending disputes in Lebanon, most notably after the unrest in northern Lebanon.

He said during his weekly meeting with lawmakers: “Harming the army is a red line.”