Russian refugee plan needs UN help: Lebanon's Aoun

By Wassim Samih Seifeddine and Hamdi Yildiz

BEIRUT

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday he expects UN support for a Russian initiative to return hundreds of thousands Syrian refugees to Syria.

During a meeting with UN envoy to Lebanon Pernille Dahler Kardel at the presidential palace in Beirut, Aoun stressed that the Russian initiative would assure the return of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and end their suffering.

“We welcomed the Russian initiative because it provides the return of 890,000 Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Syria,” Aoun said.

The president also stressed that the Lebanese authority will form a committee to coordinate with the Russians and study the technical details of the return mechanism.

On Thursday, a Russian delegation led by Alexander Lavrentiev, President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Syria, sent a plan to Lebanese officials about returning Syrian refugees to their homes.

By Wassim Samih Seifeddine and Hamdi Yildiz

BEIRUT

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday he expects UN support for a Russian initiative to return hundreds of thousands Syrian refugees to Syria.

“We welcomed the Russian initiative because it provides the return of 890,000 Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Syria,” Aoun said.

The president also stressed that the Lebanese authority will form a committee to coordinate with the Russians and study the technical details of the return mechanism.

On Thursday, a Russian delegation led by Alexander Lavrentiev, President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Syria, sent a plan to Lebanese officials about returning Syrian refugees to their homes.