Suleiman to Head to Turkey to Discuss Case of 11 Kidnapped Pilgrims

President Michel Suleiman will head to Turkey in the upcoming two days to address the case of the 11 kidnapped Lebanese pilgrims in Syria.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Tuesday, Speaker Nabih Berri revealed the information to the families of the abducted men.

He said that Suleiman was set to head to Ankara a while ago, but the downfall of the Turkish warplane by the Syrian army prompted the postponement of his visit.

Suleiman will head to Paris on Thursday to meet with his French counterpart Francois Hollande and several other French senior officials.

The families of the 11 men are expected to meet with Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Inan Ozyildiz.

Abbas Zoghaib, the spokesman of the families of the kidnapped men, told al-Joumhouria newspaper that the meeting will call on Turkey to swiftly end the case as Ankara has an impact on the “so called Syrian opposition.”

On Monday, the families of the abducted men held talks with Berri at Ain el-Tineh.

Berri informed the families that the case reached “the final stages.”

He urged them not to block the roads as it is “useless.”

Berri contacted later Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu who pledged to exert efforts to ensure the release of the men.

However, the families warned after their talks with Berri that “patience has limits.”

The 11 Shiite pilgrims were abducted by gunmen in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo on May 22 as they were returning from a pilgrimage to Iran.

The rebel Free Syrian Army has denied involvement.

No news has been heard of the men except for a video aired on al-Jazeera TV earlier in June, in which the abductees claimed they were doing well.