Berri Hopes for European Union's Initiative to Assist Lebanon

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri welcomed the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries, led by MEP Isabel Santos, and the accompanying parliamentary delegation on Tuesday. Berri expressed his wish for the European Union to "initiate assistance to Lebanon in finding a swift solution to the issue of displaced persons, which has reached a degree of seriousness that Lebanon can no longer withstand." He pointed out that it is "no longer permissible ethically, humanely, or legally to ignore the repercussions stemming from the Syrian displaced persons crisis on Lebanon, which must be resolved through their voluntary return to their home country and support there." Berri announced that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund has been reached, indicating that Lebanon has completed an agreement with the Fund but still has one or two clauses that need resolution. He also emphasized that he had called twice for dialogue to agree on the election of a president, which was rejected both times, saying, "After that, we went to 12 election sessions and the result was the same."