Lebanese PM discusses Syrian crisis with top Turkish officials

Mikati was accompanied by Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi, Economy and Trade Minister Nicolas Nahhas and Lebanese General Security General Director Gen. Abbas Ibrahim on his visit to Turkey.

Mikati first had talks with Abdullah Gül in the afternoon at the Çankaya presidential palace. Following talks with the president, the Lebanese delegation was received by Erdoğan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, at a dinner in honor of the Lebanese prime minister.

Aridi and Nahhas also held talks with their Turkish counterparts during the visit.

The delegation discussed issues concerning the Syrian crisis as well as the release of a group of Lebanese men held in Syria for more than eight months.

Eleven Lebanese men were abducted in May in northern Syria while returning from a pilgrimage in Iran. Two of them were later released, reportedly thanks to Turkish efforts. The Lebanese pilgrims are believed to be held by Syrian opposition groups. Several Lebanese leaders have traveled to Ankara to ask Turkish authorities to intervene with the captors and the families of the kidnapped men have staged demonstrations in Beirut in front of the Turkish Embassy and a Turkish Airlines (THY) office, urging Ankara to extend greater efforts for the release of their loved ones.