Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stated on Tuesday that some sides are seeking to “obstruct” the role of Change and Reform ministers in the government, urging the cabinet to seriously deal with the electricity crisis.

He called on the Lebanese “who are paying their electricity bill to prepare themselves for a peaceful demonstration over the crisis.”

President Michel Suleiman sent a clear message to his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday about Lebanon’s keenness on the mutual respect in their bilateral relations.

A statement issued by the presidential palace, said Suleiman discussed with Iranian ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi the latest controversial remarks of the commander of Iran's Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s sources have denied reports about strained relations between the premiership and the seat of the Maronite church in Bkirki.

Ties with Bkirki are very good, the sources told An Nahar daily on Sunday. “Any statement against that is aimed at causing disarray.”

Two Lebanese fishermen and the body of a third were handed over to the Lebanese army through the Abboudiyeh crossing at dawn Sunday after they were seized by Syria off the coast of the town of Arida the day before.

Sixteen-year-old Maher Hamad was killed and his uncles Fadi and Khaled, were seized and taken to the coastal city of Tartus in Syria after the Syrian navy opened fire on their boat.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati sent his adviser Issa al-Khoury to Bkirki on Friday in order to ease tensions with Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi over the government’s “slow” approach in settling the appointments file, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

Minister of Administrative Development Mohammed Fneish stressed that this issue requires political consensus in order to be resolved, reported As Safire newspaper on Saturday.

The committee tasked by the Bkirki Maronite Summit to follow up on the issue of drafting a new electoral law stressed Friday during talks with President Michel Suleiman its “keenness on real national partnership among the country’s components.”

It also emphasized its “adherence to coexistence, pluralism and equal power-sharing,” according to a statement it issued after the meeting at the Baabda Palace.

Public sector appointments came back to the spotlight after the government approved a much awaited wage hike but differences between President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on the Maronite shares in state institutions will most likely delay the process.

“There is no strain with MP Michel Aoun or anyone else,” Suleiman said Thursday. “I have invited him to dinner.”

President Michel Suleiman called on Wednesday for the amendment of the constitution, saying the appointment of top civil servants should be through the majority vote of cabinet ministers rather than the two thirds.

In remarks to As Safir newspaper, Suleiman said: “I have said on many occasions that the cabinet has a limited productivity and this is obvious in the administrative appointments.”

President Michel Suleiman vowed on Tuesday to resume the National Dialogue and said the success of the Arab initiative to resolve the Syrian crisis falls in Lebanon’s interest.

“I will continue to exert efforts to guarantee all the necessary conditions to resume dialogue between all parties to preserve the safety of the Lebanese” and achieve a national defense strategy, Suleiman told the diplomatic corps that was in Baabda palace for a protocol visit on the occasion of the New Year.

Speaker Nabih Berri has promised to put a $5.9 billion 2011 spending bill on the agenda of a parliamentary session during an extraordinary round that lasts till March 19.

Ministerial sources told Beirut dailies on Tuesday that cabinet ministers deliberated the issue during a session held at Baabda palace a day earlier.