Premier Najib Miqati’s sources have expressed surprise at the Free Patriotic Movement’s campaign against him after a draft law proposed by FPM chief Michel Aoun on providing $1.2 billion to the energy minister to build power plants drew criticism from lawmakers.

The sources expressed surprise at the campaign saying that Miqati has supported the project but has only conditioned the introduction of measures that would guarantee transparency in the spending of the $1.2 billion which are aimed at building power plants that would generate 700 Megawatts of electricity.

Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi has denied that he discussed with Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah the issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the national dialogue which he described as a “rubber band.”

Discussions focused on “bilateral relations, the complicated situation in Lebanon and the developments in Syria,” Aridi told An Nahar daily about his talks with Nasrallah on Saturday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has unveiled that he held a telephone conversation with former Premier Saad Hariri thanking him for his latest stance on Jumblat.

The Druze leader told An Nahar daily published Friday that he heard “moving words” from Hariri but refused to give further details.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati has failed to bridge the gap between the cabinet’s centrist forces and mainly Hizbullah over the clause on the international tribunal in the policy statement, ministerial sources said.

The sources told al-Liwaa daily that consultations that Miqati held over the weekend away from the media spotlight failed to strike a deal between the two sides. The premier received a proposal from the Shiite party on the clause but the suggestion does not meet with Miqati’s own vision, the sources added.

Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi denied that U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly had imposed any conditions on MP Walid Jumblat or the new cabinet during her meeting with the Druze leader.

In remarks to al-Joumhouria daily on Thursday, Aridi said that Connelly did not impose on Jumblat “conditions or specific demands about the new cabinet, particularly the policy statement.”

Premier Najib Miqati said Monday that he had readied his draft policy statement and would suggest an approach on the controversial issue of the international tribunal during the ministerial committee’s meeting.

The committee tasked with drafting the statement would meet on Tuesday. However, Miqati would hand over copies of his draft to the committee members on Monday to allow them to make their remarks during the meeting at the Grand Serail.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat have stressed the importance of close cooperation between the different members of the cabinet to guarantee its success.

A statement released by Hizbullah’s press office on Wednesday said that Nasrallah held talks with Jumblat, who was accompanied by Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi, along with the presence of Hizbullah official Wafiq Safa.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat stressed to An Nahar daily on Saturday that the new cabinet should be formed soon “in order to fortify Lebanon on the security and economic levels”.

He noted that the region is passing through a difficult period “that has many positive outcomes and some negative ones”.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has said that Syria’s stability and future are important for Lebanon.

“What matters to us is a strong and stable Syria, where stability is accompanied with reform,” Jumblat told As Safir newspaper on Friday.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has reportedly informed Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat that France is keen on preserving Lebanon’s stability amid an uprising against the Syrian regime.

France is aware of the suppression of the Syrian people and cannot stand idle, Juppe told Jumblat and Caretaker Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi during a meeting in Paris on Tuesday, Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted sources as saying.