Salam: No One at London Conference Approached us on Naturalizing Syrian Refugees

Prime Minister Tammam Salam expressed on Friday his “satisfaction” with the results of the donors conference on Syria, revealing however that he has not yet been informed of Lebanon's share of the donations for Syrian refugees, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).

He said: “No one spoke to us of naturalizing the refugees.”

“We are satisfied with the manner in which we were addressed at the conference” that was held in London on Thursday.

“We will not abandon our demand that the refugees be allowed to return to their homeland,” stressed the premier, reiterating his speech at the conference in which he rejected the permanent residence of the refugees in Lebanon.

Tackling the Syrian crisis will take years even if a political solution is found tomorrow, Salam went on to say.

The prime minister held talks on the margins of the London conference with his British counterpart David Cameron, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The conference raised over 10 billion dollars in aid to the Syrian refugees.

The Syrian conflict, which erupted in 2011, has forced 4.6 million Syrians to seek refuge in nearby countries -- Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt -- while hundreds of thousands have journeyed to Europe in the region's biggest migration crisis since World War II.

Lebanon alone supports around 1.5 million refugees.

M.T.

D.A.