Bassil Asks Merkel to Assist Army, Help in Refugee Crisis

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Monday urged Berlin to assist the Lebanese Army in its “war on terror” and to help Lebanon in confronting the Syrian refugee crisis, during an official visit to Germany.

During a meeting with Kristof Hausken, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's political and diplomatic adviser, Bassil called on Berlin to assist the army in its “war” against terrorist groups, noting that “this war requires the efforts of all countries.”

According to Lebanon's National News Agency, Bassil also requested Germany's help in “promoting the idea of creating accommodation centers for Syrian refugees on the Lebanese-Syrian border.”

He stressed to the German official that “Lebanon will not achieve stability should the Syrian crisis and the refugee crisis continue,” noting that everyone agrees on this point.

The minister called for “halting the influx of refugees, resolving the Syrian crisis and finding a political solution.”

Earlier on Monday, Bassil held talks at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in Berlin with Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Silberhorn.

The meeting discussed means to boost economic ties between Lebanon and Germany as well as the issue of Syrian refugees and the possible aid that Germany can offer in this regard.

According to NNA, Bassil asked Silberhorn for his country's assistance in the field of educational infrastructure, “especially in terms of repairing Lebanese schools.”

In the evening, Bassil met with head of the German parliament's defense committee Hans-Peter Bartels.

Y.R.

S.D.B.