Tusk, Salam discuss preparation for London conf on Syria

BRUSSELS, Jan 21 (KUNA) - The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk,met in Brussels Thursday with Prime Minister of Lebanon Tammam Salam to prepare for the upcoming London Conference, "Supporting Syria and the region", on 4 February. "The European Union is committed to support Lebanon to sustainably address the consequences of the Syrian crisis. Ahead of London, we agreed with Prime Minister Salam to do more to address the needs of refugees and host communities," said Tusk in a press statement after the meeting.
" We discussed topics of common concern, such as the impact of the refugee crisis, the joint fight against terrorism, and the Syria crisis," he said.
Tusk said the EU appreciates Lebanon's efforts in countering violent extremism and fighting terrorism, particularly in the light of the terrorist attacks in Beirut of 12 November.
He hoped that the EU and Lebanon will be able to further strengthen cooperation and noted that the upcoming counter-terrorism Dialogue in Beirut is an important opportunity to do so.
"I expressed to the Prime Minister our appreciation for his commitment and efforts to govern in such challenging times. I also renewed our call on all political forces to elect a new President and foster reforms to strengthen democracy, justice and the rule of law," he said. (end) nk.ajs