Sleiman: We stress dissociation policy

Lebanon is committed to the dissociation policy concerning the situation in Syria and other countries, President of the Republic Michel Sleiman confirmed during his visit to Senegal. However, the President excluded the Palestinian cause and humanitarian issues from falling under this policy. Sleiman said that Lebanon has suffered from the Syrian repercussions and hosted thousands of refugees. "Lebanon could not receive more refugees because it can not offer any more the appropriate aid," the president said during a meeting with ambassadors in Senegal. Sleiman stressed need to resort to dialogue to solve all the problems, asserting that Lebanon does not support violence to achieve the demands. He also hoped that the Syrian turmoil would come to an end, calling the regime and opposition to resort to dialogue to agree on a political system. "We call on the Arab states to help the Syrians and to sponsor any agreement among them," Sleiman urged. Sleiman called on the International Community to exert pressure on Israel to grant the Palestinians their rights and to accept the Arab Peace Initiative which was adopted in Beirut. It is to note that Sleiman, his wife and the accompanying delegation arrived at 7;00 pm (local time) to Dakar- Senegal for a two-day official visit. The President was received by the President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall and his wife, House Speaker Mustapha Niasse, head of the Council of Ministers Abdoul Mbaye and other officials. On the other note, the presidential plane stopped for a short technical break during the trip to Senegal in Algeria where President of the Republic Michel Sleiman was welcomed by President of the Republic of Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika at the "VIP" lounge at the airport. Sleiman stressed that this visit will pave the way to mutual ties between both countries. "I hope Lebanon will be able to develop ties with Algeria and benefit from the Algeria's experience as for the exploitation of its oil wealth and overcomimg the problem of the public debt," Sleiman said. Both presidents held a meeting and addressed the bilateral relationship between Lebanon and Algeria and ways of developing and expanding them. Also both sides discussed the latest developments on regional and African levels and emphasized the need to strengthen bonds of cooperation in all fields.