BEIRUT, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese caretaker Minister of Displaced Affairs, Mouin Merhebi, said Saturday that Lebanon is committed to hosting and protecting Syrian refugees but it is completely against their nationalization, local media reported.
"Lebanon insists on securing a safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their homeland by providing them with legal guarantees for a secure return," Merhebi was quoted by the National News Agency as saying.
Merhebi's remarks came during a conference held in the offices of the Ministry of State for Planning Affairs to discuss the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Merhebi said that the international community did not fulfill all of its promises to Lebanon when it comes to the basic needs of refugees.
The Russian strategy for the return of refugees "can only be successful by securing funds for it while ensuring the international legal, security and socio-economic guarantees for the returning refugees," he noted.
Meanwhile, Dmitry Lebedev, the political advisor at the Russian Embassy in Lebanon, said that the success of a voluntary return for Syrian refugees requires a consensus in the international community to finance the reconstruction process in Syria.
Lebanon is hosting 976,000 registered Syrian refugees, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, while the government estimates the true number of Syrian refugees in the country at 1.5 million.
