Syria blames US for hindering return of refugees

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad yesterday blamed US sanctions and pressure on the United Nations and the country’s neighbours for the reluctance of more than five million refugees to return to Syria.

In the opening session of a Russia-organised two-day international conference in Damascus on the return of refugees, Al-Assad said that there were “many hurdles, including pressures exerted on refugees not to return and the illegitimate economic sanctions and the siege imposed by the American regime and its allies.”

He added that the western sanctions on his government were “hindering the rebuilding efforts and improvement of infrastructure that was damaged by the war.”

Al-Assad pointed out that the refugees were being “pressured or intimidated” by host countries to stay, adding that the latter were enticing them financially while “benefiting from international aid for them.”

“We are working hard for the return of every refugee who wants to come back and help rebuild the country,” he stressed.

The conference was reported to have been boycotted by the US, the European Union, and a number of neighbouring countries where some 5.6 million Syrian refugees currently reside.

The head of the Syrian Interim Government, Abdul-Rahman Mustafa, said the conference aims to obtain funds from the international community under the pretext of securing the return of refugees and reconstruction, pointing out that Moscow would later plunder the funds, as compensation for the support it provided the regime by bombing Syrian cities.

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