US President Barrack Obama on Monday phoned Lebanon President Michel Suleiman and expressed an openness to hosting an international conference for Syria refugees currently in Lebanon.
“[We] support the idea of holding an international conference in order to deal with the refugees issue through the UN,” the National News Agency quoted Obama as saying.
“My country supports Lebanon in every [way] that would reinforce its [national] security and stability,” he added.
Lebanon has been facing difficulties dealing with the increasingly high number of refugees fleeing Syria’s violent uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which has killed more than 94,000 people since its outbreak in March 2011.
While the official figures put the number of refugees living in makeshift camps in Lebanon at over 444,000, unofficial reports claim that about 1 million have already found refuge in Lebanon.
The US president went on to express his “appreciation of the role Suleiman is playing in order to maintain stability [in the country].”
Obama also commended the “disassociation policy Lebanon is implementing… based on the Baabda Declaration.”
The Baabda Declaration was issued following a national dialogue session at the Baabda Presidential Palace last year. It underscored Lebanon’s neutrality with regard to the events taking place in the Middle East region.
Meanwhile, the American head of state called for forming a new cabinet and holding the parliamentary elections on time “which would contribute to consolidate internal stability in all areas.”
In turn, the Lebanese president stressed the “importance of continuing [to provide] military assistance for the Lebanese army in order to enable it to defend the border and preserve internal security and stability.”
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/obama-supports-international-conference-for-syrian-refugees
