Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi confirmed Monday that a much-anticipated reconciliation meeting between Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh will be held “soon,” as he stressed the need to facilitate the formation of the new government.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri contacted President Michel Aoun from Paris and informed him on the outcome of his contacts with Algerian officials that led to the decision to unload fuel from the two Algerian tanker ships to supply Electricite Du Liban, the Premier’s press office said on Monday.

Caretaker Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil said on Monday that additional power cuts feared to hit Lebanon as the result of failure to provide necessary funds for purchasing fuel have been resolved.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri did not return Sunday evening to Beirut as expected to resume talks on the Cabinet formation, amid reports he has decided to “retreat” in the French capital, al-Akhbar daily said on Monday.

MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi of Hizbullah on Sunday said he “advises” al-Mustaqbal Movement against showing “stubbornness” on the issue of representing the so-called opposition Sunni MPs in the new cabinet.

“Stability in Lebanon and resolving its crises are based on the pluralism of sectarian representation, that's why we advise the brothers in al-Mustaqbal Movement not to deal stubbornly or intransigently with the issue of political and partisan pluralism in the Sunni community,” Moussawi said.

A thunderbolt struck the 220-kilovolt high voltage transmission line between al-Zahrani and Aramoun on Sunday, bringing all power plants in Lebanon to a halt, the National News Agency reported.

Technical crews from state-run firm Electricite Du Liban were exerting efforts to reconnect all groups to the grid within hours, the agency added.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday warned that “the political crisis is paralyzing the state's cycle in Lebanon and causing a stifling economic, financial and social crisis.”

“The dark consciences that are confined to personal, partisan and sectarian interests and foreign loyalties are behind this crisis,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon.

Negotiations to form a new cabinet have ground to a halt as a dispute over the representation of pro-Hizbullah Sunni MPs continues to grow, informed sources said.

“The setback that stopped the formation drive does not seem to be on the verge of any solution in the near future, at least not before the return of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri from his private visit to Paris,” the sources told al-Hayat newspaper in remarks published Sunday.

No breakthrough has been reported to ease the gridlock delaying the formation of Lebanon’s government, amid reports it is going to “persist” even longer, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

As the political deadlock to form Lebanon’s government lingers, Israel has reportedly warned the Lebanese government via Paris that it might have to “deal sharply” with alleged Hizbullah missile sites in the country if the Lebanese government refused to do so, Israeli media reports said on Saturday.