BEIRUT, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin called upon European and Gulf countries on Monday to help in facilitating the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to their homeland, local media reported.
"We call upon all countries to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland as it is a humanitarian issue and it should not be related to a political solution in the country," Zasypkin was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.
Zasypkin's remarks came during the opening of a Russian cultural center in Bekaa.
The Lebanese and Syrian authorities are working along with Russia to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to Syria, but the international community also has a big role to play in this regard, said the ambassador.
More than 1 million Syrian refugees are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, while the Lebanese government estimated the true number of Syrians in the country at 1.5 million.
To facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, Russia drafted a strategy and presented it to the Lebanese authorities, which aims at securing the return of 890,000 Syrian refugees.
