Russia, Syria urge Jordan to admit refugees from Syria's Rukban camp

The Russian and Syrian coordination centers on returning refugees have urged Jordan to open its border to displaced Syrians, who have been stranded in a camp near the frontier with the country.

“Jordanian authorities, citing security issues and difficult economic situation in the country, refuse to open the border to let refugees into their territory. The refugees are left with the only way to salvation, that is the humanitarian corridor provided by the Syrian authorities,” the centers said in a joint statement published on Thursday.

They added, “We hope our Jordanian partners will further implement humanitarian initiatives on returning Syrian refugees and participate in resolving the Rukban camp issue, thus contribute to overall stabilization of the situation in the region – something Jordan is interested in.”

The centers then called on the United Nations to demand Washington’s contribution to the resolution of Rukban issue.

PressTV-‘US-backed militants steal majority of aid for Syria camp’

A report says US-sponsored militants have plundered most of the humanitarian aid destined for displaced Syrian in the Rukban refugee camp.

 “We call on … members of the world community… and above all the United Nations to take crucial steps aimed at solving the [Rukban] problem, which has lasted for years and claimed thousands of human lives, and to point out to the United States that places like Rukban camp are inadmissible in the modern world,” the joint statement pointed out.

‘Russia ready for dialogue on Rukban camp with all parties’

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing on Thursday that Moscow is ready to engage in unconditional dialogue on the Rukban camp with all interested parties, including the US.

“We are ready to continue unconditional dialogue on the Rukban camp with all the interested parties, including the United Nations, the United States and Jordan, without politicizing the humanitarian aspects of the issue,” she said.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the US needs the Rukban refugee camp in order to justify its illegitimate military presence in Syria.

PressTV-‘US needs Rukban camp to justify deployment in Syria’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the US needs Rukban refugee camp in southern Syria to justify its illegitimate military presence in the country.

“The fact that people are not allowed to leave [the camp] and are held hostage makes one suggest that the US needs this camp to continue justifying its illegitimate presence there,” Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad Al Sabah in Kuwait City.

He added, “This is in line with the US policy aimed at creating something like a quasi-state on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. It does not want these territories to get back under the control of Syria’s legitimate authorities.”

“We will insist that these people are no longer held in the camp against their will,” Lavrov pointed out.

PressTV-Russia uncovers 300 graves near Syria’s Rukban camp

Russian satellites have uncovered a cemetery with 300 graves just outside Rukban refugee camp in southern Syria and near the border with Jordan.

The remarks came only a day after Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian satellites had found a cemetery with 300 graves immediately outside Rukban camp’s fence.

On February 28, a Syrian official held US military forces and their allied militants responsible for the humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of internally displaced people in Rukban.

PressTV-‘US accountable for humanitarian crisis at Rukban camp’

A Syrian official holds US military forces and their allied militants responsible for the humanitarian crisis affecting displaced people at the Rukban camp.

“The responsibility for the humanitarian crisis of our people at Rukban camp falls solely on US occupation forces and their stooges, as they have been preventing civilians’ departure by means of force and threats. This is while safe corridors have been opened for those who are willing to leave the camp,” the unnamed official at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates was quoted by official SANA news agency as saying.

The UN says about 45,000 people, mostly women and children, are trapped inside Rukban, where conditions are desperate. This is while Geneva-based international aid agency Doctors Without Borders has put the number there at some 60,000.

PressTV-Russia: 6,000 US-backed militants at Syrian camp

A Russian Defense Ministry official says the US is to be held responsible for the dire humanitarian situation in Syria's Rukban camp, warning that about 6,000 US-backed militants are currently residing besides civilian refugees at the shelter.

Last October, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said people in Rukban had been without access to food and humanitarian aid for several months, highlighting that the tough situation was further complicated with a closed border by Jordan.

Jordan closed its border with Syria following an attack on its soldiers by Daesh Takfiri terrorists back in 2016.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk