Nawwaf Salam: Lebanon Must Commit to U.N. Meeting on Syrian Refugees

Lebanon must take advantage of the International Support Group for Lebanon meeting that was held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, stressed Lebanese Ambassador to the U.N. Nawwaf Salam.

He told As Safir newspaper on Friday: “Lebanon must commit to the meeting and the pledges on the humanitarian, economic, and security levels.”

“The conference marked the beginning of a series of others to come that will tackle in detail the discussions made during Wednesday's meet,” he explained.

“The meeting was not aimed at bolstering Lebanon financially, but it was aimed at paving the way for the series of meetings that will devise practical mechanisms to implement the conference's findings,” he added.

“Lebanon presented its needs before the International Support Group for Lebanon and the world recognized that the country's stability is important, as is its policy of disassociation from regional developments,” Salam continued.

“Bolstering security cannot take place without supporting the army,” he noted.

On the flow of Syrian refugees into Lebanon, the ambassador said that the international community should help it support this burden.

“It is in no one's interest to make light of this meeting or its purpose,” he added.

“The conference will only take on significance once Lebanon meets its commitments towards it,” he explained.

The United Nations gave a grim warning Wednesday that Lebanon faces an explosion of social tensions unless the international community helps to handle hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

President Michel Suleiman told foreign ministers from the world's leading nations that his country faces an "existential crisis" because of the influx fleeing the war between President Bashar Assad and opposition rebels.

He told the International Support Group for Lebanon that major financing was needed to pay for the refugees, reinforce public services because of the burden and bolster the army.

The Syria conflict will cost Lebanon $7.5 billion from 2012 to 2014, according to an estimate given by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim to the meeting held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The U.N. says there are already 760,000 Syrians registered in Lebanon and there will be one million by the end of the year. Lebanon's government estimates there are already 1.2 million with many not bothering to register.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced $74 million dollars of extra humanitarian assistance for Lebanon in a meeting with Suleiman on Tuesday. The U.S. administration is negotiating with Congress to find another $30 million.