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Lebanon president urges France to help release 11 pilgrims kidnapped in Syria

17 August 2012 17:33 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on Friday called on France to help release the 11 Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria in May, according to a statement by the presidential media office, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

During his meeting with visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Suleiman called on France to make efforts to help release the 11 abducted as soon as possible.

The abduction of 11 Shiite pilgrims, who were snatched in Syria on May 22, has raised tensions in Lebanon. The families of the hostages kept staging rallies, blocking roads and threatening to escalate their protests.

Meanwhile, the president also urged France and the international community to make efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis that "would only be achieved through dialogue and the agreement among the Syrian parties."

For his part, Fabius said that the situation in Syria is "very dangerous" and expressed hope that Lebanon will not be affected by the Syrian crisis, according to the National News Agency.

On Thursday, the Lebanese cabinet decided to form a "crisis cell" chaired by Vice Prime Minister Samir Mokbel to try to solve the issue as soon as possible.