Don't take Lebanon's stability for granted - U.N. envoy

Sigrid Kaag, special coordinator of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations (OPCW-UN) joint mission on eliminating Syria's chemical weapons programme, speaks during a news conference in Damascus in this file photo dated April 27, 2014. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon has weathered five years of Middle Eastern turmoil remarkably well but its stability should not be taken for granted and it needs long-term financial help to cope with a huge number of Syrian refugees, a senior U.N. official said.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag, speaking before a Syria donors' conference in London, said on Wednesday that the refugee crisis must be recognised as long-term and the response must move beyond meeting humanitarian needs.