REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BEIRUT - The political stalemate that has left Lebanon without a president at a turbulent time in the region is "deeply troubling," US Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday. He also announced new aid to cope with the Syrian refugee crisis that has spilled over into its besieged neighbor.

Kerry said the United States would continue to support Lebanon, including its armed forces, but also urged a speedy resolution to the governing impasse.

"The current political stalemate here in Lebanon is deeply troubling. It is unfortunate the parliament did not elect a president on schedule, and now it is far more important for the vacancy to be filled," Kerry said.

"We need a government that is free of foreign influence with a fully empowered president and with the president and parliament responding to the needs of the Lebanese people." He added, "This is not a time for business as usual."

Michel Suleiman's six-year term as president ended last month, but Lebanese politicians have failed to agree on a successor despite five parliament sessions over several weeks. Lawmakers allied with the militant Hezbollah group have boycotted the meetings.

Lebanon is accustomed to political crisis. It went for months without a president before Suleiman, a former army commander, was elected in 2008. Under Lebanon's power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim.

In announcing 290 million USD in US aid for United Nations agencies that are working on the Syrian refugee issue throughout the region, Kerry called for countries and groups supporting President Bashar Assad's government to take action to end a civil war that has taken more than 160,000 lives.

Lebanon, home to 4.5 million people, is struggling to cope with the presence of more than a million Syrian and Palestinian refugees in desperate need of housing, education and medical care.

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