Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Gebran Bassil held a press conference on the sidelines of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Kuwait to prepare for the 25th round of the Arab Summit.

Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Gebran Bassil held a press conference on the sidelines of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Kuwait to prepare for the 25th round of the Arab Summit.

Bassil initiated his statement by reciting the words of Pope John XII "Lebanon is a small country but its message is very, very big."

"Today, there are two dangers threatening Lebanon, and we have presented those risks to the Arab foreign ministers who have been very supportive. The first issue is the increasing number of displaced Syrians in Lebanon. (...) We must realize that any direct assistance for the displaced only, without providing help to the State plying under the burden of displacement, would lead to encouraging further flow of Syrian refugees and hence further weakening of the Lebanese State," he noted.

Minister Bassil also urged to redistribute displaced people among neighboring countries and Arab states as a prelude to returning them to their land in Syria upon a peaceful political solution to the Syrian crisis.

"The Security Council's latest resolution over the subject of humanitarian aid to the displaced people is an assistive decisio," he noted.

"The second imminent danger is terrorism, and unfortunately Lebanon is more and more a victim of this terrorism. We see how, as a result of military acts, citizens and entire cities are being besieged by insurgents. Lebanon and its people are kept hostages of blind and sullen terrorism sneaking from Arab countries to Lebanon, and from it to some of the Arab States and Europe later."

"We need a joint Arab action to confront terrorism, and this requires first the support of the national institution capable to confront terrorism and defend Lebanon in face of the Israeli aggressions," Bassil went on.

"Lebanon has the opportunity to face challenges, primarily because of its national government, secondly owing to the unprecedented Saudi donation to the Lebanese Army, and third due to the international and Arab support. There is also a promising Lebanese capacity represented by its oil and gas wealth, and this is a source of tranquility for all," he said hopefully.

Bassil also stressed that he was the Foreign Minister of all Lebanon and did not speak in the name of a particular team.
"We should adopt any policy that gathers the Lebanese and confront anyone that divides them."

He reiterated Lebanon's position which confirms that "there is no way out in Syria but through a peaceful political solution."

"Violence only leads to further violence," he asserted, noting that that Lebanon is affected immensely by this Syrian war at the economic, social and security levels.

On a different note, Bassil met with his Libyan counterpart Mohamed Abdel Aziz and tackled with him the investigations conducted into the vanishing of Imam Moussa Sadr.

He also discussed bilateral relations with his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi.

The Lebanese Foreign Minister had also met the UN envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi with whom he reviewed the outcome of the contacts regarding the Syrian crisis.