POMPEO TO US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AFTER LEBANON VISIT SAYS WILL WORK TOWARDS RETURN OF SYRIAN REFUGEES

Thu 28 Mar 2019 at 16:14 Politics

 

NNA - A diplomatic report issued on Thursday reportedly said that following his visit to Lebanon, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, spoke to the US House of Representatives' subcommittee on aid funding Syrian refugees in Lebanon, as well as their return to their homeland. 

"In Lebanon, there are 1.5 million Syrian refugees; they are a heavy burden on the country in terms of the cost and the risks that they pose on Lebanon and its democracy," Pompeo said. 

"The US State Department has been broaching the best means to pave the way for suitable conditions on the ground in Syria, and the means by which the US and its Arab partners could secure the right conditions on the ground in Syria so that refugees can return to their homes. This is the exact task that the Lebanese people wish to see implemented," Pompeo added.

"I honestly believe that the return of these individuals is the best for them. We have to make sure that the conditions are appropriate for their return, a thing which the US State Department will be in the front lines to achieve," Pompeo said.