Speaker Nabih Berri met on Monday with a delegation from the families of the 11 abducted Lebanese pilgrims.

He vowed before them to “follow up on their case until they are released.”

Contacts are ongoing between Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Hizbullah in order to resolve the MP’s dispute with Speaker Nabih Berri ahead of Monday’s cabinet session, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

Sources close to Aoun said that the contacts have been taking place away from the media spotlight, with the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper revealing that Energy Minister Jebran Bassil held “a lengthy meeting” with Hizbullah Liaison and Coordination Officer Wafiq Safa.

Head of Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad said on Saturday that the sharp differences with the Free Patriotic Movement will not lead to a rift between the allies, stressing that those who are staking on the collapse of agreements and allies will be disappointed.

“As long as there is a strategic understanding, no one will be able to create a rift,” Raad said.

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Friday that the recent parliamentary boycott by the Christian MPs is a part of a scheme to target it and the constitution.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblt received on Thursday a cable from French President Francois Hollande, who voiced his country’s keenness on Lebanon’s stability and security.

He said in a cable to the Druze leader: “We have long defended Lebanon’s independence and sovereignty and we will continue on defending the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”

The Parliament's Bureau Committee failed to convene on Thursday as the March 14-led opposition MPs boycotted the meeting pending a “comprehensive solution.”

MTV channel said that the opposition is demanding a solution for the parliament’s approval of Electricite du Liban’s contract workers’ full-time employment as political tensions soared over the controversial issue.

The different stances of Hizbullah, AMAL and the Free Patriotic Movement on parliament’s approval of Electricite du Liban’s contract workers’ full-time employment have widened the gap between the tripartite alliance as contacts are ongoing to bridge the divide.

The clashing interests of the different components in the alliance are threatening as contacts are ongoing between the advisor of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hussein Khalil, Speaker Nabih Berri’s advisor, Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, and FPM minister Jebran Bassil who have exerted efforts to resolve the dispute, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Thursday.

Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun accused Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday of “hiding” the projects of Change and Reform bloc MPs proposed to parliament rather than pushing for their approval.

Berri is “hiding our projects” in the drawers of parliamentary offices, Aoun told al-Akhbar daily about the failure of parliament to discuss several draft-laws proposed by his bloc’s lawmakers, including the establishment of a security committee, and resolving the issue of Lebanese who have escaped to Israel and of property ownership by foreigners.

Speaker Nabih Berri voiced on Wednesday his “constant” keenness on bolstering national unity.

His visitors quoted him as saying: “We are keen on maintaining our friendship with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.”

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil slammed on Wednesday the performance of the cabinet, saying that the Change and Reform bloc would continue to boycott its sessions until it assumes its responsibilities.

“Either we have a government that rules, or a one that lets all issues slip by,” Bassil told reporters after holding a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail.