BEIRUT: Beirut is set for its first visit from a U.S. secretary of state in over five years, with John Kerry expected to arrive Wednesday in a show of support for Lebanon as it suffers a political crisis and spillover from the Syrian war.
Kerry is expected at Beirut's Grand Serail early Wednesday afternoon. Political sources told The Daily Star that Kerry is expected to focus on the presidential election deadlock and the Syrian refugee influx into Lebanon.
Making his first trip to Lebanon since becoming secretary of state, Kerry will meet separately with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Tammam Salam for talks likely to center on the urgent need to choose a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year term ended on May 25, the sources said.
However, the local newspaper Al-Joumhouria quoted sources at the U.S. State Department as saying that Kerry’s visit was aimed at showing U.S. support for Lebanon during these circumstances, especially in terms of helping Lebanon cope with the Syrian refugee crisis, and would not touch upon the elections.
The sources said Washington expected the refugee crisis to worsen, thus exposing Lebanon to serious risks.
They said Kerry would discuss with Lebanese officials a number of projects and possibly a decision taken by President Barack Obama regarding the establishment of a common fund to counter terrorism.
Kerry’s trip comes just over five years after his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, made a similar brief trip in April 2009 to the Lebanese capital.
Clinton's visit was only months before the parliamentary elections in 2009, and was widely viewed as a show of support for Washington's allies in Lebanon. Kerry's visit similarly comes amid a presidential election that has reached a stalemate, leaving a void in the Baabda Presidential Palace.
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