Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi urged the international community, on Thursday, to stop the war in Syria and instead work on making permanent and comprehensive peace throughout the Middle East.

"We urge the conscience of the world leaders and the international community to work on ending the war and establishing permanent, comprehensive, and just peace through the political and diplomatic channels; the people in the Middle East have the right to live in peace," Rahi said in an address devoted to the international community.

"Declaring war is ultimate weakness, but building peace is ultimate heroism (...) We all know how wars begin; however, we do not know how they end. Stop the war and make peace."