President Michel Suleiman called on Wednesday for the election of a strong head of state, who pledges full loyalty to Lebanon.

“The new president should be strong, not weak… and consensual if possible or should belong to a certain political camp and be fully loyal to Lebanon,” Suleiman said during a ceremony at Baabda Palace.

A delegation from the Vatican has been holding talks with Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Maronite political leaders in an attempt to bring to the helm of Baabda Palace the strongest and most popular Christian politician, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The daily said that the delegation, which has been sent to Lebanon by Pope Francis, is moving back and forth between the papal embassy in Harissa, the seat of the Maronite church in Bkirki and the residences of the Maronite political leaders.

President Michel Suleiman urged on Friday the Lebanese Armed Forces to confront terrorists and criminals no matter how much sacrifices they make.

In a statement issued by Baabda Palace, Suleiman said: “All terrorist activities that target the members of the army and police won't stop those forces from implementing the decision of the government to preserve security and stability.”

A three-member committee formed by Speaker Nabih Berri is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to come up with a roadmap for its talks with political parties on the presidential polls, two MPs from his parliamentary bloc said.

MP Ali Osseiran, who is a member of the committee made up from Development and Liberation bloc lawmakers, said: “We will meet today to specify the roadmap for our tour on political parties to guarantee a quorum for a parliamentary session” to elect a new president.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam warned on Monday that the security situation in Lebanon would not improve if the presidential elections were not held.

In remarks to employees and reporters at a ceremony held at the Grand Serail, Salam said: “Making this achievement would open a new page to the nation and comfort the people.”

A security meeting at the Baabda Palace on Wednesday ordered the competent ministries and security forces to intensify cooperation and take the necessary measures to restore calm in tensed areas across Lebanon.

President Michel Suleiman chaired a security meeting that tackled the security chaos in several areas in the country, in particular, in the northern city of Tripoli and the Bekaa.

Phalange leader Amin Gemayel visited President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace on Tuesday a day after holding talks with the prime minister on his party's reservations over the cabinet's policy statement and amid hints that it is set to withdraw its threat to quit the government.

Several ministers and lawmakers representing the Phalange accompanied Gemayel to seek clarifications from Suleiman, who told the delegation that “the policy statement focuses on the authority of the state in all political affairs and mainly the defense of Lebanon and the liberation of occupied Lebanese territories.”

President Michel Suleiman urged on Tuesday Lebanon's rival political parties to apologize to the Lebanese people over their failure to implement decisions reached at the all-party talks.

“We should apologize to the Lebanese people” for lack of respect to the decisions taken at the national dialogue table, Suleiman said during a speech at an awards ceremony held at Baabda Palace.

The Free Patriotic Movement is exerting efforts to restore ties between President Michel Suleiman and Hizbullah after a dispute over the President's latest statement.

According to al-Liwaa newspaper published on Wednesday, the FPM tasked Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil with resolving the dispute.

President Michel Suleiman's advisers and Hizbullah officials held contacts to ease the tension between the Baabda Palace and the party after they launched a war of words over the weekend.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Monday, Suleiman's advisers and Hizbullah officials discussed the policy statement, without citing further details.