Brahimi: Syrian Conflict Must Be Controlled Before it Burns Everything

United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi stressed the necessity to find a solution for the conflict in Syria, warning that it could spread to neighboring countries and “burn everything,” the As Safir daily said Thursday.

During his visit to Beirut Wednesday, where he met with senior Lebanese officials, Brahimi briefed President Michel Suleiman on the results of his meetings with officials in the countries he had visited to find a solution to the crisis in Syria and the obstacles that hinder his mission, al-Joumhouria daily quoted unnamed sources informed on the discussions as saying.

“Iran and Russia want calm to prevail in Syria, but insist that Syrian President Bashar Assad stay at the heart of the solution,” sources quoted Brahimi as saying.

“Turkey, the United States, Europe and the Gulf states meanwhile support dialogue and a peaceful political solution that leads to ousting Assad from power and prevent him from practicing a role in the future of Syria,” Brahimi added.

The envoy voiced fears if mediations to stop violence in Syria turned out to be a failure, saying: “What is happening in a big country like Syria will inevitably lead to a sectarian conflict that will be difficult to control.

Brahimi wants a truce over the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which starts on 25 October, to "allow a political process to develop".

For his part, Suleiman renewed Lebanon's commitment to the “Baabda Declaration”, which called for neutralizing Lebanon from regional conflicts and rejecting the creation of buffer zones and the flow of gunmen and arms from Lebanon to Syria.

The “Baabda Declaration” agreed upon by the rival March 8 and March 14 leaders at the June 11 national dialogue meeting called for “keeping Lebanon away from the regional and international conflicts and sparing it the negative repercussions of these tensions and crises.”

Suleiman also expressed hope that Brahimi would succeed in his peace mission and be able to find common grounds for a peaceful settlement to end the said conflict.

He called for a solution to the problem of thousands of Syrians who fled the fighting in Syria to neighboring countries “so as to allow their return to their home country once the shape of a political solution has been crystallized.”

Sources from the Syrian National Council, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the al-Joumhouria that Brahimi received a letter from the Syrian opposition before he arrived in Beirut demanding the United Nations and Arab League to hold an emergency session to tackle the alleged Hizbullah intervention in the Syrian conflict and its involvement in the daily violence against civilians.

However, the issue was not tackled in depth with the Lebanese officials, according to reports.

On the other hand As Safir daily said that Brahimi had warned that the Syrian conflict could spread to neighboring countries, stressing: “The Syrian crisis will not stay in Syria forever. It must be solved before it spreads out and devour everything.”

He backed Lebanon's policy of dissociating itself from regional conflicts, voicing concerns on the spiking number of Syrian refugees and the burdens they entail on host countries, including Lebanon.