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US could take care of Syrian refugees in Rukban camp, says Russia’s top diplomat

The number of Syrian refugees on the territory of Jordan amounts to some 670,000 people, Sergey Lavrov recalled

© AP Photo/ Raad Adayleh

MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. The United States could take care of humanitarian aid delivery to Syrian refugees in the Rukban camp on the border with Jordan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference after a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi on Friday.

"One of serious problems that concerns Jordan is the problem of Syrian refugees who number about 670,000 people on the territory of Jordan," Russia’s top diplomat said.

"An especially alarming situation has emerged in the Rukban refugee camp on the Jordanian border, which is located in the Al-Tanf security zone unilaterally declared by the United States. We discussed today how to solve as soon as possible the problem of this camp, in which refugees have no normal access to humanitarian aid, although the US regularly supplies its military staying there and could take care of refugees as well," Lavrov said.

The Russian foreign minister said that both sides had agreed "to discuss in detail this problem and the ways of solving it as part of the work of the Russian-Jordanian operational headquarters, which functions in Amman and in whose work representatives of the United States and the United Nations are periodically involved."

‘It is clear that not only the plight of refugees in the Rukban camp but also, as a whole, the problem of the return of refugees to Syria requires large-scale international assistance," Russia’s top diplomat stressed.

During the talks, the Russian and Jordanian foreign ministers "confirmed their commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Syria," Lavrov said.

‘We are unanimous in the need to implement in full UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which stipulates solving all the problems in Syria on the basis of the Syrian people’s consensus," the Russian foreign minister pointed out.

"No doubt, the fulfillment of this resolution also implies fully eradicating terrorism on Syrian soil. We also consider it right to assist the emerging trend of restoring Syria’s ties with other Arab countries," Lavrov said.

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Sergey Lavrov Syria United States

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