BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman discussed the Syrian refugee crisis with the ambassadors of top world powers Tuesday ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York later this month.
A meeting chaired by Sleiman at his summer residence in Beiteddine brought together ambassadors of the five permanent members of the Security Council as well as the representative of U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and representatives from the European Union and the Arab League, according to a statement from the presidential palace.
“These countries will look into ways to support Lebanon economically and safeguard its stability and also help it cope with the growing burden caused by the increasing number of refugees from Syria,” the statement said.
The “preparatory” talks come ahead of a Sept. 25 U.N. meeting to discuss the more than 700,000 Syrians who fled the war next-door and sought refuge in Lebanon.
Lebanese officials say the Syrians refugees are severely taxing the country’s infrastructure and the nation is running out of resources to care for them.
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03/09/2013
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