Bassil: Lebanon-Syria Coordination for Return of Displaced 'Not Binding Nor Forbidden'

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said on Friday that a decision to make displaced Syrians return home must not be linked to any events happening in Syria, as he pointed out that contacts with the Syrian regime to that end are "not binding nor prohibited.”

“We have stepped into a phase where we will raise the voice for the return of displaced people. The current international policy gives displaced people assistance to stay in Lebanon, while it should be helping them return to Syria,” said Bassil in an interview with the weekly al-Sayyad newspaper.

Bassil said that linking the decision of return to events in the war-torn country or to a political solution “is impermissible,” stressing his rejection of “the logic of dependence on foreign states or external developments to resolve the crisis of the displaced.”

Whether handling this issue required a higher level of political contacts between the two governments, the Minister said: “The return of displaced peopl can happen with or without contact with the Syrian government. Contact with Damascus is not binding, but it is not prohibited either.”

"It is imperative that the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to their country is not governed by a UN resolution. What would we do if the international community decided it was not high time for them to return? What should we do if the solution is delayed for years in Syria?” asked Bassil.

The Minister stressed the need for the adoption of a “national policy that would actually lead to the return of the displaced.”