As he met Lebanese officials, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said on Thursday that “the only way” to end the Syrian Crisis is for President Bashar Assad to step down.

As he met Lebanese officials, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said on Thursday that “the only way” to end the Syrian Crisis is for President Bashar Assad to step down.

During a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai in Bkirki, Feltman urged the Patriarch “to support international and regional efforts to end the brutality of the Syrian regime against the Syrian people”, according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy.

“He reaffirmed to the patriarch the United States’ firm view that Assad has lost his legitimacy to lead and the best way to end the brutality is for Assad to step down”, Feltman added.
Feltman met with many other officials, discussing the political and security situation in Lebanon and Syria.
While in Bkirki, Feltman a met briefly with former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.

On the other hand, President Michel Sleiman refused to meet Feltman, in a tit-for-tat move after U.S. officials declined to meet the president when he was in Washington last September.

Feltman also met Speaker Nabih Berri at his residence in Ain al-Tineh before holding talks with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt at the latter’s residence in Clemenceau.
A statement released by the PSP’s media office said Feltman and Jumblatt discussed “the latest political developments in Lebanon and the Arab region in the light of the successive changes.”

Furthermore, the US official held talks with Army Commander General Jean Kahwagi in Yarze, Internal Security Forces Director General Major General Ashraf Rifi and former Defense Minister Elias Murr.
On Wednesday, Feltman met Prime Minister Najib Miqati.