Miqati Urges International Support for Lebanon, Calls for Dialogue
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati urged the international community on Friday to support Lebanon and end the fighting in neighboring Syria to bring back tranquility to it.
During a speech on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Miqati urged the world “to support Lebanon at all levels and stop the fighting in Syria through a formula that the Syrians agree to.”
Such a deal should “bring back peace and tranquility to Syria,” he said.
Miqati called for the end of the dispute between Lebanon's rival parties and urged them to engage in dialogue away from conditions.
He told a conference held in ESCWA that the parties should not bet on the changes in the region.
“We don't want this dialogue to be a new battleground,” he said.
Miqati stressed that “no peace process can survive unless all Palestinians return home.”
He reiterated Lebanon's policy of rejection to naturalize them.
“Any attempt to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, would increase conflicts in the region,” he warned.
“Palestine is the cause of the nation. It has survived for generations and will continue to do so,” he said. “There is no peace or stability without it.”
Miqati hoped the latest deal between Iran and world powers, which he described as a main turning point, would lead to dialogue between Tehran and Arab countries.
“Priority today is ending wars, destruction and fighting,” he said.
Iran struck a breakthrough deal with the United States and five other Western powers on Sunday, accepting strict constraints on its nuclear program for the first time in a decade in exchange for partial sanctions relief.
The caretaker PM reiterated that Lebanon has kept its borders open for refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict by sticking to religious and humanitarian values.
“We haven't differentiated between Palestinians and Syrians,” he said.
Earlier, Miqati held talks with Antonio Guterres, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, at the Grand Serail.
Guterres urged the international community to provide more assistance to Lebanon, including Lebanese communities, and not just the Syrian refugees.
Guterres has called on European and Gulf Arab states to host Syrian refugees who fled the civil war.
He nearly 3 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries — mainly Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and an additional 6.5 million are displaced in their war-ravaged country.
After meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Thursday, Guterres said the refugee crisis "is alarming."
He called for more financial support for countries hosting the refugees and warned a shortfall in funding may force host countries to become "unable to receive more refugees."
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