Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil held talks Friday at the Center House, following tensions between their two parties.

Describing the meeting with Bassil as “very good,” Hariri told reporters that his relation with the FPM chief remained intact despite the tensions between the FPM and al-Mustaqbal Movement.

The syndicate of fuel distributors and owners of fuel stations and tankers on Friday decided to stage a strike on Monday “unless the ongoing contacts result in solutions that satisfy those who work in the sector,” in connection with the dollar rationing crisis in the country.

The syndicate of money changers for its part threatened that the entire sector might stage an open-ended strike or close shops permanently if the “unjust accusations” against it continue, stressing that its work is “legal.”

Telecommunications Minister Mohammed Choucair announced Friday that he will not meet with Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim for a testimony over suspected wrongdoing in the telecom sector.

“I will not appear at the office of the financial prosecutor, neither for coffee nor for tea, and if he wants to meet I’m ready to host him at my house or office,” Choucair told reporters.

The President’s remarks about restoring contacts between Lebanon and Syria was reportedly the trigger for the economic crisis in Lebanon and for straining ties between President Michel Aoun and PM Saad Hariri, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper reported on Friday.

A crisis cell composed of diplomats has reportedly been formed two week ago to follow closely on the developments in Lebanon, mainly its worsening economic crisis following fears of a dollar shortage and possible currency devaluation, Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Friday.

Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel on Thursday called on the government to step down while urging the formation of a “cabinet of experts” that enjoys the confidence of the Lebanese and the world.

“The government is not doing anything other than trading blame, instead of solidarity and convening night and day to rescue the country,” Gemayel said at press conference.

Beirut MP and ex-interior minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq has denied allegations accusing him of being behind the New York Times’ report about Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s alleged payment of more than $16 million to a South African bikini model.

“I was very surprised that my name was linked to an article published by The New York Time newspaper, which tackled a personal side of PM Saad Hariri’s life, and that I was accused of being behind it,” Mashnouq said in a statement.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Thursday pledged anew to preserve the stability of the Lebanese lira exchange rate, amid an unprecedented dollar shortage crisis in the Lebanese markets.

“We remind everyone that the lira is the country’s currency and we will continue to secure its exchange rate stability,” Salameh vowed.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday warned that the government should not fail in addressing the country’s accumulating crises.

“I’m the head of the state and I represent the dignity of the Lebanese and the state’s prestige, and we all represent the executive authority and any failure for us is a failure for all authorities, that's why it is prohibited to fail and we won't fail,” Aoun said at the beginning of a Cabinet session in Baabda.

The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday lauded President Michel Aoun’s stance at the U.N. on the issue of the Syrian refugee crisis, as they called for an end to smuggling and corruption in Lebanon.

The president’s stance “demonstrated the severity of the crisis in Lebanon and the solutions needed for its salvation, especially as to asking world leaders to contribute to the safe and dignified return of the Syrian refugees to their country,” the bishops said in a statement issued after their monthly meeting in Bkirki.