Lebanon should drop Syria entry permits: Berri

 

 Beirut (The Daily Star)- Lebanon should drop its new measures requiring Syrians to obtain permits to enter the country, Speaker Nabih said Thursday, according to the Syrian ambassador.

Ambassador Ali Abdel-Karim Ali quoted Berri as telling him that "there should not be entry permits or visas between Lebanon and Syria.”

“What is happening are mere organizational measures, and should be carried out in coordination between the two countries,” Berri reportedly told Ali during a meeting between the two.

Ali has repeatedly denounced the measures.

Earlier Thursday he said Damascus was not looking to escalate any confrontation over the new restrictions, while calling on Lebanon to show “wisdom” in dealing with the matter.

“We leave it to the Lebanese government to make a correct judgment concerning the entry measures for Syrian nationals on the borders,” Ali said during an interview with OTV. “We do not want to escalate since that would lead to a logic that serves neither of the two countries.”

The statement came three days after Lebanon implemented a decision that requires Syrians to obtain one of six entry permits to enter the country in a policy authorities say is meant to limit the number of refugees.

On Monday Ali called the measures “totally unacceptable,” and hinted that Damascus may respond by closing the border to Lebanese trucks exporting goods.

Ali urged Lebanon to re-examine the policy, noting that it was not passed by the Cabinet and that it did not have consensus among the ministers.

He reiterated that Lebanon and Syria needed to coordinate over the issue to find a solution to the refugee crisis.

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas said earlier Thursday that the controversial new measures do not apply to those holding refugee status in the country.

The U.N. has also voiced concern over the new regulations.