MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he will discuss Moscow’s proposals to solve the problem of Syrian refugees with his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil.

"It will be important for us to hear your assessments of what is going on around Lebanon, first and foremost, in terms of efforts on the Syrian settlement," he said addressing the Lebanese minister before bilateral talks. "I know how much you are worried about the refugee problem. The Russian president said the other day that we are trying to help solve it as soon as possible."

"We have put forward an appropriate initiative. We maintain contacts, of course, with the Syrian government and those countries, which have sheltered refugees," Lavrov noted. "I expect that we will be able to discuss in detail specific steps to implement these plans today."

Currently, there are about 1.5 mln Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Most of them fled to the neighboring country to shelter themselves from terrorists and opposition militants who had controlled Syria’s western part adjacent to Lebanon.

Russia has been actively promoting efforts to ensure the return of Syrian refugees on international platforms since the middle of this summer. Officials in Moscow have noted that most of Syria’s territory had been liberated from terrorists, so its citizens can safely return to their home country from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. Russia’s representatives discuss issues related to refugees’ return with their counterparts in the aforementioned countries, the UN and the European capitals, on which financial support depends.

The return of refugees from Lebanon has begun, but so far it has proceeded slowly, with a few tens of thousands out of a million and half returning to Syria. The current negotiations between the top Russian and Lebanese diplomats in Moscow are expected to accelerate that process.