Russia to work with Lebanon on return of refugees to Syria

Beirut supports Moscow’s initiative for the return of Syrian refugees to their home country and is interested in its success, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has said. He made the statement at the talks with Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Monday. “I would like to thank Russia for putting forward an initiative aimed at resolving the refugee issue,” TASS quoted Bassil as saying. “Russia’s position confirms its principle-based approach to resolving the situation in the region, as the refugee issue has been making the matters worse,” Bassil added. Lebanon should not become a bargaining chip in geopolitical games and a hostage to the Syrian crisis, including the refugee problem, Lavrov said following the talks with Bassil.