Speaker Nabih Berri held talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati in Ain el-Tineh on Tuesday to resolve the crisis threatening to collapse the cabinet.

As Safir reported that Berri, in his attempt to find consensus among the cabinet members, was tasked by the Hizbullah leadership in coordination with President Michel Suleiman to contact Miqati to find an acceptable solution by all members.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly expressed on Monday the United States’ concern over the possibility of Lebanon failing to meet its obligations to Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

She said after holding talks with Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas: “Its failure to meet these obligations could lead to serious consequences.”

The Grinch, the anti-holiday spirited hermit, will have a new address this year. Either the Grand Serail in downtown Beirut or Rabieh.

Premier Najib Miqati, who has threatened to resign if the cabinet failed to approve the funding of the special Tribunal for Lebanon, would put the country in disarray if he goes ahead with his move.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat hoped on Monday that the concerned Lebanese forces would approve the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for the sake of the country’s higher interest and in order to avoid economic sanctions and internal tensions.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “All sides are better off revising the current sensitive phase in Lebanon and the region in order for them to avoid becoming captive of their escalatory positions on complex issues of contention.”

President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Judge Sir David Baragwanath stressed on Monday that the main purpose of the tribunal is to bring the killers of Lebanese citizens to justice.

He said in a statement in light of his recent visit to Lebanon: “Last week's visit to Beirut has given me great confidence that our mandate of challenging impunity will be fulfilled.”

President Michel Suleiman proposed that Hizbullah not attend Wednesday’s scheduled session so that the cabinet approves the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, al-Liwaa newspaper reported.

The daily said on Monday that Suleiman is exerting efforts to resolve the crisis that is threatening to collapse the cabinet.

Tashnag party and Marada movement sources stressed on Monday that they would support the decisions taken by the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc.

In remarks to An Nahar daily on Monday, the Tashnag sources said the party is committed to any decision taken by the bloc.

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Monday that he isn’t worried about the fate of the cabinet, stressing that the Lebanese should resolve the crisis on their own by taking responsibility and without depending on any foreign assistance.

“The outside is busy” trying to resolve other issues, Berri told As Safir newspaper.

Ministers loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun have stressed that they would boycott a cabinet session set to discuss the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday unless Premier Najib Miqati meets their demands.

“No solution can salvage the government if the Change and Reform bloc’s clear requests are not met,” Energy Minister Jebran Bassil told As Safir daily published Monday.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Sunday accused the Free Patriotic Movement of obstructing the functioning of state institutions, noting that the opposition March 14 camp was only interested in seeing the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon being funded by Premier Najib Miqati’s government.

In an interview with Al-Jadeed television, Gemayel warned that “we don’t have time to enter a power impasse because the international community, the (U.N.) Security Council and the (Special) Tribunal (for Lebanon) will not wait for us.”