FM Mekdad: Western states do not want Syrian refugees to return home

Syria’s minister of foreign and expatriates affairs says Western states are impeding the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland by all means.

Faisal Mekdad made the comments in a joint meeting of the Syrian-Russian ministerial coordination committees on return of Syrian refugees, which kicked off in capital Damascus on Thursday, official SANA news agency reported.

He emphasized that Damascus seeks to bring back its displaced people, urging them once again to return to their homes and contribute to rebuilding what have been destroyed by foreign-backed militancy and terrorism since 2011.

Mekdad also stressed that a number of Western states do not want the Syrian refugees to return to their homeland and keep on impeding the process by all means.

He said the United States and its proxies are plundering Syrian oil and wheat and simultaneously try to prevent oil and wheat from reaching Syria.

Mekdad stressed that Syria will not surrender to those who plot against it, stressing that it will continue to defend its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.

The Syrian government says it has provided a supportive environment for the return of Syrian refugees, and that it is trying to rehabilitate areas recently liberated from the grip of foreign-backed terrorists.

Damascus keeps providing necessary health, educational and nutritional requirements for the displaced. However, according to Syrian authorities, the citizens held in al-Hawl and Rukban camps face all forms of deprivation and humiliation by the US occupation and its mercenaries.

Conference on Syrian refugees’ return

Syrian and Russian high ranking officials have held a follow up conference in Damascus on refugees

Separately in the meeting, Syria’s Local Administration and Environment Minister Hussein Makhlouf, for his part, said that the illegitimate sanctions imposed on Syria and the continuation of the US and Turkish occupation of parts of the Syrian territories and the plundering of the Arab country’s resources prevent Syrian refuges from returning to their homeland.

The minister stressed that the return of the Syrian refugees is a priority for the government, which spares no efforts in providing facilitation for their return, the most significant of which are the amnesty decrees.

Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defense Gennady Zhidko also said for his part that the reconstruction of Syria’s economy and infrastructure is the main task for building on what has been achieved in the field of combating terrorism.

He also stressed that sanctions by the US and Western countries against Syria impede the return of the Syrian refugees to their homeland.

Since March 2011, Syria has been gripped by a campaign of militancy and destruction sponsored by the US and its allies.

However, Syrian government forces, backed by Russia and Iran, have managed to win back control of almost all regions from terrorist groups.

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