Syria Ambassador Says No Refugee Return without 'Dialogue with Syrian State'

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali has stressed that Syrian refugees in Lebanon cannot return home without “dialogue between the Lebanese and Syrian states.”

“Whoever tries to ignore this fact would be acting as if they are trying to construct a building without any foundations,” Ali said in remarks published Thursday in ad-Diyar newspaper, noting that “political pragmatism and the Lebanese interest – more than the Syrian interest – require cooperation and coordination on the refugee file.”

He added: “Some forces that are rejecting dialogue with Syria are acting arrogantly and trying to disregard the realities of history and geography.”

And slamming the opponents of coordination with Damascus as “irresponsible” officials who “talk empty words,” Ali accused them of seeking to “satisfy Saudi Arabia and regional and international forces.”

Urging the Lebanese parties to “resort to the treaties that regulate the relation between the two states and to the special ties that bind them,” the envoy noted that “the rejection of dialogue with the Syrian state harms Lebanon primarily, because it reflects contradictions among the components of the Lebanese government.”

“The stances of President Michel Aoun on the resistance and the crisis in Syria are well-known and we share them,” Ali pointed out.

Turning to Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the ambassador asked: “How can Hariri stress on every occasion that Lebanon will be the launchpad for rebuilding Syria and then he says that he does not want to talk to Damascus... Does Hariri think that he will 'parachute into Syria?'”

And in remarks to al-Akhbar newspaper, Ali underlined that “Syria will not accept mediations, but rather official communication to resolve this crisis that is threatening Lebanon.”

“Some parties that are rejecting coordination with Syria today are largely responsible for tempting the Syrian refugees and pushing them to leave Syria in order to use them as a card for pressuring the Syrian government,” the ambassador went on to say.

Al-Akhbar reported Thursday that “there is an inclination to task General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to politically coordinate with the Syrian government on the refugee file – not in his security capacity but rather in his capacity as a presidential envoy.”

During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Hariri called for avoiding debate on the issue of communicating with the Syrian regime seeing as it is “controversial.”

“The government wants the Syrian refugees to be returned home as soon as possible, but we consider that the United Nations' responsibility,” the PM said.

Several officials of Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement are strongly opposed to any communication with Damascus, especially State Minister for Refugee Affairs Moein al-Merehbi. The Lebanese Forces is also opposed to such a move.

Political disagreements prevented Cabinet from taking any decision on the file during the session.

Several political parties, especially Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement, have called for coordinating the return of the displaced with the Syrian government.