On Saturday, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, who is currently serving in the caretaker government, apologized for not leading the Lebanese government delegation to visit Damascus and discuss the issue of the return of refugees.
The Minister of Displaced Persons in the Lebanese government, Essam Sharafeddine, stated in a press release that “Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib informed him that he has stepped down from chairing the Lebanese ministerial delegation to Syria.”
Minister Sharafeddine had previously visited Syria in June, where he met with Syrian Minister of Local Administration and Environment, Hussein Makhlouf, who is responsible for the issue of Syrian refugees, and Minister of Interior Mohammed Rahmun.
During the meeting, they discussed the file of refugee return and prepared for the upcoming official visit of the Lebanese ministerial delegation to Syria to address this matter with the Syrian government.
According to our correspondent, the date of the Lebanese delegation’s visit to Syria has not been determined yet, but it is expected to take place at the beginning of August.
This comes after French MP Thierry Mariani revealed a decision by the European Parliament to keep Syrian refugees in Lebanon, which sparked a wave of angry reactions in Lebanon.
Minister Sharafeddine considered this decision as portraying Lebanon as a “colony of the European Union,” emphasizing that it is an arbitrary and unjust decision against Lebanon, which is completely rejected.
