Western states deliberately hinder the implementation of Russia’s initiative to return Syrian refugees to their homeland, these countries thus intend to lay a “bomb” in neighboring countries of the SAR for personal interests, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said in an interview.
“We have become convinced that the return of refugees to their country depends on a serious international decision. And is not limited to my visit to Syria. The international community uses this issue in bad faith. They want to leave the bomb in the form of refugees in neighboring countries of Syria, even if this will undermine society, security and the economy in countries like Lebanon. They don’t want to share responsibility for refugees with these countries, despite the great opportunities that many countries in Europe and the United States have”, – Aoun said.
The Lebanese leader said Beirut and Moscow are in contact on the issue of returning Syrians home, “especially after the proposed initiative, which was aimed at helping refugees return to their homeland”.
“But, unfortunately, this initiative faced international obstacles that hindered its implementation. In this regard, the situation in Lebanon has worsened. We believe that Russia and Lebanon have a similar vision on the issue of refugees from Syria”, – he said.
According to Aoun, Western countries are hindering the return of refugees under the pretext of waiting for a final political solution to the Syrian crisis, which will happen “not very soon”, which in turn will lead to disastrous consequences for Lebanon.
The President expressed the hope that the common goals of Russia and Lebanon will be able to overpower the strategy of the West, recalling that the Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon are waiting for a political decision in their country to return there for more than 75 years.
In Lebanon, about 2 million refugees from Syria and 600 thousand from Palestine fall on the 4 million population. Lebanese authorities have repeatedly called on the international community to help, stating that the country’s economy is no longer able to withstand such a load.