MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. Egypt plans to join international efforts to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees, Mikhail Mizintsev, chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, said on Friday.
"More and more foreign partners express readiness to take part in the humanitarian operation for the return of Syrian refugees to places of their permanent residence in Syria," he said.
"Thus, at a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov on July 25, Egypt’s Ambassador to Moscow Ihab Nasr said that Egypt wants to join the process of refugee return. We are glad that the Egyptian side pays much attention to the humanitarian operation in Syria," he said, adding that he hopes the Russian-Egyptian cooperation in this area "will only grow."
According to Mizintsev, Russia hopes that Syria’s neighbors, first of all Turkey and Jordan, will join this humanitarian operation. He asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to continue efforts to ensure interstate cooperation concerning refugee return matters.
He focused attention on the difficult situation in the Rukban camp for Syrian refugees at the border with Jordan. "Access to humanitarian assistance for refugees at this camp and their return to the places of their permanent residence is complicated because of the position of the US side," he noted.
"Taking into account Jordan’s constructive position on reconciliation efforts in Syria’s southwestern de-escalation zone and the normalization of the situation, it is extremely important to have the Jordanian authorities join the negotiating process," he stressed.