BEIRUT, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri said Tuesday that Lebanon will not negotiate directly with the Syrian regime on the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, local media reported.
"We are coordinating with the Russians to secure a voluntary return of refugees to their country with help by the international community," Hariri was quoted by Elnashra, an independent online newspaper, as saying.
Hariri said that Lebanon has offered all the possible help to Syria throughout its crisis and it has welcomed Syrian refugees including those who support the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Hariri, a long-time supporter of the Syrian opposition, announced earlier in August his unwillingness to visit Syria or meet with Assad under any circumstances, even if that would cost him his position.
Hariri is dealing with the refugee crisis by following a strategy drafted by the Russian Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after a meeting in Helsinki, Finland between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump last month.
According to the strategy, a Russian-Syrian-Lebanese security committee will be formed to facilitate the legal return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to their homeland.
