The Lebanese flag flying over the bay of Jounieh. (Credit: Patrick Baz/AFP)
BEIRUT — Lebanon's Foreign Ministry said Friday it supports "Arab efforts to find an Arab solution to the Syrian crisis," a day after a meeting between the heads of diplomacy of Saudi Arabia and Syria aimed at ending the diplomatic isolation of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in the Arab world — an isolation that has persisted since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.
"Lebanon supports and encourages Arab efforts to find an Arab solution to the crisis in Syria, within the framework of a political settlement that preserves the unity of the Syrian territory, its sovereignty and stability, and allows the state to extend its power over all of it," the ministry said in a statement.
Lebanon's Foreign Ministry also welcomed the joint Syrian-Saudi statement issued after the meeting of their foreign ministers in Jeddah, as well as their willingness to "ensure adequate conditions and work for the safe and decent repatriation of Syrian refugees."
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry also stressed that it is "ready to cooperate to end the suffering of Syrian refugees in Lebanon."
The country estimates that 1.5 million Syrian refugees have entered Lebanon since the start of the Syrian civil war.
On Thursday, Syrian diplomatic chief Faisal Mekdad discussed with his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhane, the "necessary measures" to end the Syrian crisis and stop Damascus' diplomatic isolation in the Arab world, according to a joint statement.
A meeting of nine Arab countries, focusing on the return of Syria to the Arab League, from which it has been excluded since 2012, is to be held Friday night in Saudi Arabia.
The Assad regime has been diplomatically isolated since the 2011 crackdown on a popular uprising that sparked a civil war in which many foreign forces intervened.
Riyadh severed relations with Syria in 2012, as it supported anti-regime groups early in the conflict.
Since the deadly Feb. 6 earthquake that devastated Turkey and parts of neighboring Syria, Saudi Arabia has sent aid to affected populations in both government-controlled and rebel-held areas of Syria. The countries have also begun discussions on resuming consular services.
The Saudi-Syrian rapprochement comes after the restoration of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a major ally of Damascus. Saudi Arabia and Iran had severed diplomatic relations in 2016.