U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns traveled June 30-July 1 to Beirut, Lebanon for meetings with senior officials, including President Michel Sleiman, President of the Chamber of Deputies Speaker Nabih Berri, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Lebanese Armed Forces Commanding General Jean Kahwagi, and others.

Their meetings addressed the serious challenges facing Lebanon at this time, including Lebanon’s security and political situation.

Deputy Secretary Burns reaffirmed the United States’ long-standing partnership with the people and Government of Lebanon, and the U.S. commitment to Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty, and independence, and U.S. support for Lebanon’s policy of disassociation from the Syrian conflict.