Lebanese Minister: The European Union brazenly voted to keep Syrian refugees in Lebanon

ARK News… The Minister of Displaced Persons in the Lebanese caretaker government threatened to open the sea ports in his country wide, so that refugee ships could reach Europe safely, in the context of pressure on European countries, accused of imposing their “custodianship” on Lebanon in the Syrian refugee file.

Issam Sharaf al-Din, Minister of Displaced Persons in the Lebanese caretaker government, said during a workshop entitled “Convoys of Safe Voluntary Return to Syria,” in the Jbeil municipality building, that the European Union countries voted “insolently” to keep Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Sharaf El-Din pointed out that the European Union refused to form a tripartite committee, did not agree to disburse aid to Syrian territory, and did not want to contribute to the reconstruction of Syria.

In this context, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides revealed the start of work to reach an agreement with Lebanon, with the aim of preventing the flow of Syrian refugees to the European Union, from its coasts, and pointed out that his country seeks to help Lebanon deal with refugees, so that more of them do not come to Lebanon. Cyprus.

The Associated Press previously reported that the Cyprus authorities have suspended the processing of asylum applications submitted by Syrian migrants, under the pretext that large numbers of them are still arriving on the island via boats departing, especially from the coast of Lebanon.

Officials in Lebanon have been pressing for weeks to declare areas in Syria “safe,” and are directing their statements in this regard to European Union countries.

It is estimated that Lebanon hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 805,000 are officially registered with UNHCR.

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