Lebanon at breaking point due to Syrian refugees — President

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said Monday that his country was at a breaking point in dealing with Syrian refugees, describing the crisis as “an existential threat”, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

“Lebanon is no longer able to wait anymore and bear with the suffering of the Syrian refugees because this issue has turned into an existential threat,” a statement from the presidency said.

He added “there is a need to achieve a political solution in Syria, but it seems the solution is still not within reach.”

The statement came out after Aoun welcomed the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Syrian and Lebanon.

Marisa Matias, who headed the delegation, thanked Aoun for welcoming the delegation and handed him a written message from the European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, which included an invitation to address the parliament in Strasbourg. — Bernama