President Michel Aoun on Thursday ended the Cabinet's first session after the ordinary agenda was discussed and after a heated debate erupted over the thorny issue of the relation with Syria.
“The President stressed the need for the return of Syrian refugees to their country without linking the issue to the political solution and we can only approach the issue in a serious manner,” Information Minister Jamal al-Jarrah said after the session.
State Minister for Administrative Development Affairs May Chidiac of the Lebanese Forces said “the President ended the session when a heated debate erupted without giving the ministers who requested to speak the permission to do so.”
“Everyone supports the return of the refugees, but does the Syrian regime really want them to return?” Chidiac asked.
“We are dismayed over the normalization of tied with Syria and Prime Minister Saad Hariri was also dismayed over everything, including the issue of the Tripoli parliamentary vote appeal,” the minister added.
State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib meanwhile said that he visited Syria to “serve the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese” and “with the knowledge of all the relevant parties.”