Syrian refugees return ‘top priority’ in Arab summit

AFP | Amman

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Arab foreign ministers meeting in Amman to discuss Syria’s long-running conflict agreed yesterday the return of Syrian refugees was a “top priority”, according to a communique released after the talks.

The talks in Jordan’s capital brought together foreign ministers from Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt, in the latest regional engagement with the long isolated government of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.

“The voluntary and safe return of refugees to their country is a top priority, and the necessary steps must be taken immediately to implement it,” the closing statement said.

According to the United Nations, about 5.5 million Syrian refugees who fled since the conflict began in 2011 are registered in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. The communique called for increased cooperation between Damascus, host countries and the United Nations to organise repatriation operations in a “clear time frame”.

The ministers also agreed to “support Syria... in any legitimate efforts to extend its control over its territory, impose the rule of law, end the presence of armed and terrorist groups... and stop foreign interference in internal Syrian affairs”.

The 12-year civil war in Syria has claimed more than half a million lives and nearly half of its population are now refugees or internally displaced. Although the Assad regime clawed back much ground lost earlier in the war, swathes of territory still remain outside government control.

Syria, backed during its war by Iran and Russia, was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests. But while Assad has been politically isolated since the conflict began, recent weeks have seen a flurry of diplomatic activity after Saudi Arabia and Iran resumed diplomatic ties in March, shifting regional relations.