Mansour Heads to Cairo to Chair Arab League Ministerial Council Meetings

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour headed on Monday to Cairo to preside over two meetings for the Arab League Ministerial Council, which Lebanon took over its chairmanship on September 5.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported that Mansour will chair the Arab League Foreign Affairs meeting and a meeting between European-Arab Foreign Ministers, which will tackle the joint cooperation.

Lebanon has presided over the Arab League Ministerial Council for a six-month period starting September 5.

Sources told the newspaper that President Michel Suleiman stressed to Mansour during a recent meeting to commit to the state's decision to disassociate itself from the situation in the region, in particular the developments in Syria.

The FM telephoned Prime Minister Najib Miqati ahead of his departure.

Miqati stressed that Lebanon is holding on it's decision to distance itself from interfering in the situation in Syria.

He said that the state will remain committed to implementing any decision taken by the Arab League Foreign Ministers, except decisions concerning Syria.

Lebanon has been distancing itself from the uprising in Syria which started as peaceful demonstrations against President Bashar Assad's regime but turned into a bloody crackdown that has so far led to 37,000 deaths.