Report: Russia Plan Requires Presence of Govt. in Beirut within 48 Hours
The Russian plan for repatriating Syrian refugees requires the presence of a new government in Beirut “within 48 hours,” a media report said.
The 48-hour deadline “begins on Sunday morning,” Kuwait's al-Anbaa newspaper quoted informed sources as saying.
It noted that other sources gave Thursday as another date for the expiry of the deadline "should contacts fail to resolve the remaining obstacles" over the next two days.
The Lebanese political parties are wrangling over shares in the new government, especially the Christian and Druze shares.
Lebanon says it currently hosts some 1.5 million Syrian refugees.
Earlier this month, Russia presented the U.S. with plans for the coordinated return of refugees to Syria. The proposal includes the establishment of working groups in both Lebanon and Jordan, involving U.S. and Russian officials.
Following talks with a Russian presidential delegation in Baabda on Thursday, President Michel Aoun said that the Russian initiative aims to return some 890,000 Syrians from Lebanon.
The Russian initiative was proposed following the summit in Helsinki between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, although it was not clear whether the U.S. supported the proposal.
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