Rival political leaders are scheduled to convene at Baabda Palace on Monday to resume national dialogue sessions, as President Michel Suleiman is expected to deliver two “important” speeches on the weekend.

Al-Joumhouria daily revealed on Thursday that Suleiman informed Prime Minister Tammam Salam during a Wednesday meeting that he is planning on sending the invitations for the dialogue session, which will take place at 11:00 am on Monday.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader former PM Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil have agreed on the importance of holding the presidential elections on time to avoid vacuum, the FM and sources said.

Hariri and Bassil, who is a Free Patriotic Movement official and MP Michel Aoun's son-in-law, held a meeting in Paris on Tuesday on the eve of the second round of the presidential elections.

President Michel Suleiman is expected to head on Friday a cabinet session at the Baabda Palace after he returns from Rome, where he attended the canonization mass of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII that was held at the Vatican.

A ministerial source said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper on Monday that the session will not make the appointment of top civil servants in a single package.

President Michel Suleiman and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi attended on Sunday the canonization mass of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII that was held at the Vatican.

They were present at St. Peter's Square where Pope Francis I declared the two popes as saints.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat urged al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri to return to Lebanon soon as “there are no excuses that could justify his absence.”

“I call on Hariri to return and head an all-embracing cabinet (after the election of a new president) to avert further tension and crises,” Jumblat said in an interview with As Safir newspaper.

Western countries urged Lebanese officials on Friday to elect a new president within the constitutional deadline, voicing fear of vacuum at the helm of the country's highest Christian post, which will have negative impacts on Lebanon.

Informed sources reiterated in comments published in As Safir newspaper the U.S. administration's stance, which highlights the importance of “carrying out the polls on time and avoid vacuum.”

Speaker Nabih Berri said the first round of the presidential elections was a “rehearsal,” adding that the parliamentary session next week would be aimed at electing the new head of state.

In remarks to As Safir daily published on Friday, Berri said: “The real session next week won't be a session (aimed at knowing) the candidates.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is scheduled to travel to Rome on Thursday to attend several religious ceremonies and is expected to meet with al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, al-Joumhouria daily reported.

The newspaper said that al-Rahi will attend a ceremony on Saturday night on the centenary of the establishment of Saint Maroun church in Rome. President Michel Suleiman will also participate in the event.

The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc led by MP Michel Aoun announced Tuesday that it will cast blank votes in Wednesday's presidential election.

"We have decided to take part in Wednesday's session and we will cast blank votes," MP Emile Rahme said, reciting a terse statement issued after the bloc's weekly meeting in Rabieh.

President Michel Suleiman hoped on Tuesday that parliament will respect the constitutional deadline to elect a president, saying that this remains one of the greatest challenges facing Lebanon.

He said in a statement: “I expect parliament to assume its national responsibility and elect a new president that the Lebanese people deserve before May 25.”