The Progressive Socialist Party is shrugging off reports and rumors about deterioration in the relations between PSP chief Walid Jumblat and Hizbullah over his remarks on the Shiite party’s weapons.

Ministers Ghazi Aridi and Wael Abou Faour, who are loyal to Jumblat, stressed before a cabinet session held on Wednesday that ties between the Druze chief and Hizbullah officials are “good,” An Nahar daily reported.

Relations between Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and Hizbullah seem to be reaching an all-time low after the Shiite party’s al-Manar TV station slammed the Druze leader for criticizing Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

Al-Manar said in reference to Jumblat in its newscast on Monday that some officials remain steadfast in their stances while others tend to swing to adjust to the “regional winds.”

The Progressive Socialist Party unveiled on Tuesday that most of its requests to amend several articles in the controversial electricity project were met during a ministerial meeting held at the Grand Serail the day before.

PSP official Minister Ghazi Aridi told As Safir newspaper that major achievements were made. “We could say that we made good progress with the hopes of reaching a serious understanding through cooperation and good will from all sides.”

A ministerial meeting aimed at finding a solution to the electricity crisis is expected to be held at the Grand Serail on Monday after allegedly progress was made on a proposal to end the standoff.

Ministerial sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Tuesday that during a previous meeting under Premier Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail, several suggestions were made to end the dispute on a draft law proposed by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun that calls for allocating $1.2 billion to Energy Minister Jebran Bassil.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil has accused cabinet members of “putting sticks in the wheels” of the electricity project proposed by his father-in-law Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun.

“Rather than putting sticks in the wheels of this project, we would have wished that they came to us to speed up its implementation,” Bassil told As Safir daily in remarks published Tuesday.

Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas confirmed on Monday that he was tasked with bridging differences among top officials on an electricity project that has threatened the unity of the government.

In remarks to As Safir daily, Nahhas said Premier Najib Miqati urged him to hold consultations with officials in an attempt to find a consensual formula ahead of a Sept. 7 cabinet session to discuss the electricity draft law.

Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas is conducting behind the scenes contacts with various officials in order to prepare the suitable conditions to hold the cabinet session on September 7, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

Nahhas, representing Premier Najib Miqati, has so far held talks with President Michel Suleiman and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.

President Michel Suleiman has warned cabinet ministers against division on a controversial electricity bill, saying the government shouldn’t collapse over “technical” differences between ministers loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.

Suleiman’s sources told As Safir daily published Thursday that the president’s warning came during a 10-minute cabinet session held at the Baabda palace.

Hizbullah and the Progressive Socialist Party denied on Tuesday local and Arab media reports that the latter had deployed security and military units in some areas of Mount Lebanon aimed at destabilizing the ties between the two parties.

They said in a statement: “The relations between the two sides are well and they are seeking to bolster them through constant consultation and coordination.”

Hizbullah has mediated with the Free Patriotic Movement to prevent an escalation in the dispute over the electricity draft law proposed by FPM chief Michel Aoun, March 8 sources have told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.

The dispute began when Aoun threatened to pull his ministers from the cabinet after opposition MPs and lawmakers allied with him rejected the draft law that allows Energy Minister Jebran Bassil, who is Aoun’s son-in-law, to spend $1.2 billion on building power plants without referring to the cabinet.