Suleiman Urges Arabs to 'Share Burden' of Syrian Refugees, Seek Release of Aazaz Abductees

President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday called on the Arab states to “share the burden” of hosting the Syrian refugees and urged them to seek the release of nine Lebanese pilgrims abducted by an armed group in the Syrian town of Aazaz.

“The number of Syrian refugees has surged and it is now equivalent to one quarter of Lebanon's population. Although the Lebanese state has decided not to close the border, the situations indicate that the security problems will increase and this requires a serious discussion in order to find a solution to this aggravating problem in a country based on delicate checks and balances,” Suleiman said in his address at the Arab Summit in Doha.

“To avoid very grave problems, I urge the Arab brothers to consider calling for an international conference on Syrian refugees that does not settle for financial support, but also seeks ways to share the burden and split the numbers,” Suleiman urged.

The president also suggested forming an Arab committee tasked with overseeing the issue of refugees.

Explaining Lebanon's approach towards the Syrian crisis, Suleiman said: “It is normal for Lebanon to be concerned with Syria's stability."

"The members of the (national) dialogue committee agreed to spare Lebanon the possible negative repercussions of the Syrian crisis and the Baabda Declaration enjoyed wide international and Arab support," he noted.

Suleiman called on Syrian opposition groups to "refrain from using Lebanon as a launchpad for their military operations."

"I urge all the parties concerned with the Lebanese affairs to realize the importance of strict adherence to the Baabda Declaration and I urge all parties to abide by its content," the president added.

He also called on Arab tourists to return to Lebanon, stressing that "the Lebanese state's policy is very keen on the best relations with the brotherly Arab countries and we stress our rejection of interference in these countries' domestic affairs."

Turning to the issue of the Lebanese abductees in Syria's Aazaz, Suleiman said: "How is it acceptable that the Aazaz abductees have been in custody for more than nine months."

The president urged the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi to "exert all efforts to free them as soon as possible."

“We hope to move forward towards sparing Lebanon the threat of violence and steering it away from the regional crises,” Suleiman said.

Commenting on the participation of the Syrian opposition in the summit, Suleiman added: “To spare the Lebanese any strife or violence … we dissociate ourselves from the (summit's) resolution on Syria.”

The families of the nine pilgrims abducted in Syria's Aazaz threatened on Tuesday to escalate their measures at beginning of April if the case wasn't resolved.

Protesters held banners criticizing Lebanese authorities for failing to release the men.

They held a protest near the Arab Justice Ministers headquarters in the Sami Solh region before briefly blocking the road near the Justice Palace, causing bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Suleiman discussed the case with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Doha.

Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo district in May 2012 as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage in Iran.

Since then, two of them have been released, while the remaining nine are being held in Syria's Aazaz region.

Awad Ibrahim, one of the abducted pilgrims who were released, threatened that the families would go on a kidnapping spree in retaliation.

“Turkish and Syrian nationals will not be safe,” Ibrahim said.

The families of the pilgrims have repeatedly accused the government of failing to exert enough efforts to ensure their release.

They have also held Turkey and Qatar responsible for the ongoing abduction.